Molecule of the Month
Molecule of the Month is a series started with the vision of making students more aware about amazing molecules around them. A molecule is entitled MOM each month and some facts about it are shared.
NanoKid
August
by Anirudh Gupta
NanoKids belongs to a series of NanoPutians, a series of organic molecules whose structural formula resemble human forms. James Tour has turned the NanoKid into a lifelike character to educate children in the sciences. It was found that 82% of students found that NanoKids made learning science more interesting and led to a 10–59% increase in understanding of the material presented!
BoN-Si
July
Boronate-utilised Novel Silyl Compound (BoN-Si) is a nano bonsai molecule synthesized using Si-iterative synthesis. The molecule has an oxygen atom bridging a silicon backbone and an adamantane base. The molecule has no practical application and was synthesized just for fun!
Maitotoxin
March
Maitotoxin, produced by marine plankton, is so potent that just 1ng of it is enough to kill a rat. It has one of the most complicated non-protein non-polysaccharide structures produced in nature. Its structure is an inspiration for synthesis amongst chemists because it has 32 fused rings with 22 methyl groups, 28 hydroxyl groups, and 2 sulfuric acid esters and has 98 stereo centers!
