Fifty Fascinating Molecules from A to Z

Volume 1
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-32602-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Fifty Fascinating Molecules From A to Z, Volume 1 follows on from the author’s earlier books Every Molecule Tells a Story and Every Molecule Matters and relates the stories of a wide range of molecules.

They encompass familiar names – medicines including aspirin, cisplatin and morphine; flavourings such as menthol and vanillin; and substances of abuse such as cocaine and methamphetamine. But there are the unexpected, like the poisons that appear in the stories of James Bond and Dr Crippen; the molecules that give chillies and mustard their particular charm; the polymers that became a part of everyday life in the twentieth century – polythene, nylon and terylene; and other everyday molecules, such as hexenal, which plays a role in the smell of a summer’s day; dimethylsulphide, which can transport you to the seaside; and water, a substance that so many people take for granted. It is not just about molecules. Chemicals, including the medicines we rely on, were brought into use by scientists. Read about these molecules and their creators here.

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Many important medicinal molecules are featured, including Artemisinin, Aspirin, Atropine, Cisplatin, Codeine, Ivermectin, Mefloquine, Morphine, Paracetamol, Penicillin, Quinine, Streptomycin, Sulfanilamide, Taxol, Tetracycline, and Thalidomide.

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Numerous abused drugs of importance are featured, including Cathinones and Khat, Cocaine, Desomorphine, Fentanyl, Heroin (Morphine), LSD, Methamphetamine, and Oxycodone, and ‘Spice’.

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Several important polymers are discussed, including Nylon, Polythene, and Terylene.

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Several molecules important in the environment are included, such as Dichlorodifluoromethane (CF2Cl2), Chloromethane, Dimethylsulfide, Octane (and isooctane), Water.

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The text also covers a number of molecules with particular smells and/or flavours, such as 2-acetylpyrroline, Capsaicin, Chanel No. 5, Cinnamaldehyde, Limonene, Menthol, and Vanillin.

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The book is complemented by a comprehensive bibliography comprising nearly 1,000 references from the original literature, providing all the background information one could reasonably expect for each one of the molecules detailed throughout the chapters.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Professional Reference, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cotton, Simon

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Chemie Allgemein
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biochemie (nichtmedizinisch)
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Organische Chemie
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Anorganische Chemie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author  Chapter 1 2-Acetylpyrroline  Chapter 2 A-234 and the Novichok Agents Chapter 3 Allyl Isothiocyanate Chapter 4 Artemisinin  Chapter 5 Aspirin Chapter 6 Atropine Chapter 7 Capsaicin Chapter 8 Cathinones and Khat Chapter 9 CF2Cl2 Chapter 10 Chanel No. 5 and 2-methylundecanal Chapter 11 Chloromethane Chapter 12 Cinnamaldehyde Chapter 13 Cisplatin and Other Platinum Anticancer Drugs Chapter 14 Cocaine Chapter 15 Codeine and Oxycodone and Desomorphine Chapter 16 Dimethylmercury Chapter 17 Dimethylsulfide Chapter 18 Fentanyl and Its Homologues Chapter 19 Hexenal and Green Grass Smell Chapter 20 Ivermectin Chapter 21 Limonene Chapter 22 LSD Chapter 23 Mefloquine and Some Other Synthetic Antimalarial Drugs Chapter 24 Menthol (and Its Relatives)  Chapter 25 Methamphetamine Chapter 26 Morphine and Heroin Chapter 27 Muscone and Synthetic Musks Chapter 28 Nylon Chapter 29 Octanal Chapter 30 Octane Chapter 31 Paracetamol, Acetaminophen, Tylenol and Other Coal-Tar-Derived Painkillers Chapter 32 Penicillin Chapter 33 Polythene Chapter 34 Quinine Chapter 35 Scopolamine (aka Hyoscine): Dr Crippen’s Drug, which is also used to rob people Chapter 36 “Spice”  Chapter 37 Streptomycin: And other Drugs for the Treatment of Tuberculosis Chapter 38 Sulfanilamide and Other Sulfa Drugs Chapter 39 Taxol Chapter 40 Terylene Chapter 41 Tetracycline Chapter 42 Tetraethyl Lead Chapter 43 Tetrodotoxin Chapter 44 Thalidomide Chapter 45 Vanillin Chapter 46 Vaska's compound Chapter 47 VX and the Earlier Nerve Agents Chapter 48 Water Chapter 49 Wilkinson's Catalyst Chapter 50 Zingerone Bibliography Index

Über Autor(innen)

Simon Cotton obtained his BSc and PhD from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London, followed by research and teaching appointments at Queen Mary College, London, and the University of East Anglia. He subsequently taught chemistry in both state and independent schools for over 30 years. In 2011, he became an honorary senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Birmingham, where he taught inorganic and organic chemistry for five years. He has published research on the chemistry of iron, cobalt, scandium, yttrium and the lanthanide elements in particular.

His “Soundbite Molecules” feature ran as a regular column in the magazine Education in Chemistry from 1996 to 2012, reaching every secondary school in the UK. He has written over 100 “Molecules of the Month” articles, which are featured online (http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/motm.htm) and recognised worldwide. Additionally, he has delivered over 40 “Chemistry in Its Element” podcasts for the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry World website (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/).

In 2005, he shared the Royal Society of Chemistry Schools Education Award, and in 2014, he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his contributions to chemistry and education.

He was editor of the section on “Lanthanide and Actinide Compounds” for the Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds and the Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds (Chapman and Hall) between 1984 and 1997. Moreover, he wrote the account of lanthanide coordination chemistry for the second edition of Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry, as well as the accounts of lanthanide inorganic and coordination chemistry for the first and second editions of the Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry.

This is his tenth book. His previous books are:

D. J. Cardin, S. A. Cotton, M. Green, and J. A. Labinger, Organometallic Compounds of the Lanthanides, Actinides and Early Transition Metals, 1985.

S. A. Cotton, Building The Late Mediaeval Suffolk Parish Church, 2019.

S. A. Cotton, Chemistry of Precious Metals, 1997.

S. A. Cotton, Every Molecule Tells a Story, 2012: second edition 2026.

S. A. Cotton, Every Molecule Matters, 2026.

S. A. Cotton, Lanthanide and Actinide Chemistry, 2006; second edition 2024.

S. A. Cotton, Lanthanides and Actinides, 1991.

S. A. Cotton and F. A. Hart, The Heavy Transition Elements, 1975.

P. W. May and S. A. Cotton, Molecules That Amaze Us, 2015.