Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Posted by linalool on July 6, 2008
Welcome! I am writing this blog as a creative, mostly harmless addition to teh interwebz. I will traverse the realms of organic chemistry for my own edification and the belief that others will want to listen (also a belief in instant fame never hurts!) And, as my hero Bueller sagely said, “Besides, how could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?!”
A bit about the appellation: Linalool, like most acyclic terpenes, is harvested from natural sources, as well as produced commercially. The biosynthesis is certainly straightforward, since practically all the terpenes, and it seems, a ridiculous number of biomolecules, are made from geranyl pyrophosphate. Ah, monoterpene synthases are ubiquitious, and linalool is but a drop in the acyclic terpene ocean, and as cool as the name may sound, there are lots to choose from in this group!
Similarly, the uniqueness of the name is outshone by the usefulness of the compound. As all chemicals go, the dosage can indicate the use. Linalool is found in pesticides, perfumes, and cigarettes, and the concentrations fall correspondingly from almost 90% to 5% to 5ppm. It seems nowadays practically everything can found at the 5 ppm level. Just look at the levels of cocaine in paper money – and somehow we humans survive still. Quantity is usually key to toxicity, except for maitotoxin – run away!
I suppose the bottom line is that linalool provides some fresh scents with a little bit of spice. I’ll try to live up to that!
Oh, and here’s the my cat loves total synthesis photo! I don’t think he knows how to laugh out loud, sorry
my cat totally synthetic
