Alkynes are hydrocarbons with triple bonds between two carbon atoms. They are important in organic chemistry for synthesizing new compounds and are used in industries as fuel and starting points for other compounds. Alkynes are also found in some pharmaceutical products and are important in anticancer agents. They are unsaturated hydrocarbons and can be terminal or internal based on the position of the triple bond.
Alkynes are one of many different families of hydrocarbons, or compounds made up solely of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Alkynes are specifically characterized by the presence of triple bonds between two carbon atoms. Most chemical bonds are single bonds, meaning they consist of two bonding electrons. Triple bonds, on the other hand, consist of six bonding electrons. Like most hydrocarbons, many alkynes are important organic molecules commonly studied in organic chemistry.
The synthesis of some alkynes is important in both science and some industries. A major research concern in organic chemistry is the synthesis of new organic compounds, some of which have alkyne components that need to be synthesized. Alkynes such as acetylene, for example, can be used as a fuel or can serve as starting points from which other useful compounds can be derived.
There are several pharmaceutical products that also have an alkyne component. Some varieties of some medications, such as antifungals, antiviral drugs, or contraceptives, have alkyne components. Alkynes are also very important parts of some anticancer agents. The highly reactive complexes known as calicheamicins are composed of an alkyne and other organic components and are able to directly attack the DNA inside cancer cells.
Alkynes are referred to as unsaturated hydrocarbons because the carbons in an alkyne are not bonded to three hydrogen atoms. Alkanes, hydrocarbons in which carbon atoms are bonded to hydrogen atoms and other carbon atoms with only single bonds, are referred to as saturated compounds because all of the bonding electrons in the compound are used to bond the carbon or hydrogen . In an alkene or alkyne, on the other hand, some of the bonding electrons are used to form double or triple bonds between carbon atoms instead of bonding to hydrogen atoms, so the hydrocarbon is said to be unsaturated.
An alkyne molecule can be a terminal alkyne or an internal alkyne, based on the position of the triple bond. If the triple bond is internal, ie if the carbon atoms involved in the triple bond are linked to other carbon atoms by single bonds and are not at the “edge” of the molecule, the alkyne is considered internal. If, however, at least one of the carbon atoms in the molecule is bonded only to a hydrogen atom and the molecule does not extend beyond that point, the alkyne is considered terminal.
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