ChemHealthWeb
Chemistry A-Z
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Air pollutants Substances directly produced by a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption or carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhaust
Alkaloids A class of over 3,000 nitrogen-containing chemicals (such as caffeine and cocaine) that are produced by plants but have effects in humans and animals
Amino acids A class of 20 chemical units that are the building blocks of peptides and proteins
Anabolic A type of reaction or series of reactions in which complex molecules are synthesized from simpler ones; the opposite of catabolic
Antibiotic resistance The ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of antibiotic medicines
-ase A suffix common to many, but not all, enzymes
Atom The smallest particle of matter that maintains the property of an element in the periodic table; atoms are composed of subatomic particles called electrons, neutrons, and protons, which themselves are composed of even tinier subatomic particles such as quarks
ATP Adenosine triphosphate The energy currency of metabolism in all organisms
Biochemistry The scientific study of the chemistry of living cells, tissues, organs, and organisms
Biodegradable Capable of being broken down by the action of living things, such as microorganisms
Biomaterial Any material, natural or synthetic, used and adapted for a medical application
Biosensor A system or device that detects a chemical or chemicals in a biological material
Biotechnology The industrial use of living organisms or biological methods derived through basic research; examples range from genetic engineering to making cheese or bread
Bond Physical forces holding together two atoms in a molecule
Carbohydrate A chemical compound made up of a chain or ring of carbon atoms to which hydrogen and oxygen atoms are attached in a defined ratio (2:1); includes simple sugars like glucose and complex sugars like chitin (the exoskeleton of crabs)
Carbon dioxide A heat-trapping gas (CO2) that plays a role in global warming.
Carbon monoxide A poisonous, local air pollutant (CO) produced when fuel such as petroleum does not burn completely
Carcinogen A substance that has been proven by medical research showing direct correlation to cause cancer in humans
Catabolic A type of reaction or series of reactions in which complex molecules are broken down into simpler ones; the opposite of anabolic
Catalyst A substance that speeds up a chemical or biochemical reaction that would have occurred anyway (without help), but at a much slower rate; enzymes are biological catalysts
Chemical biology A field of study that blends chemistry and biology and involves the application of chemical techniques and tools, often compounds produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and manipulation of biological systems
Chemical genomics The study of gene responses to chemical compounds. The main goal is to rapidly identify new drugs and drug targets
Chemical library A collection of chemicals that are stored along with related information such as the chemical structure, purity, quantity, and other characteristics of the substance
Cheminformatics The use of computer and information technologies to study problems in chemistry
Chirality The ability of a chemical substance to exist in two mirror-image forms, each of which rotates polarized light in opposite directions
Cholesterol A lipid unique to animal cells that is used in the construction of cell membranes and as a building block for some hormones
Clinical trial A scientific study in which physician-researchers study the effects of potential medicines on people; usually conducted in three phases (I, II, and III) that determine safety, whether the treatment works, and if it's better than current therapies, respectively
Cofactor A helper molecule (either inorganic, such as a metal ion, or organic, such as a vitamin) required by an enzyme
Combinatorial chemistry The random assembly of various chemical units into chemical libraries of new synthetic compounds
Covalent bond A force that holds together two or more atoms, formed when electrons travel between the atoms' nuclei (and are thus "shared")
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) A double-stranded molecule that encodes genetic information; composed of four nucleotides containing the bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)
DNA polymerase An enzyme that copies, and sometimes repairs, DNA
Double bond A type of covalent bond in which a pair of atoms shares two pairs of electrons
Drug delivery Giving a medicine to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. The most common methods include: oral (through the mouth), topical (skin), transmucosal (nasal, buccal/sublingual, vaginal, ocular and rectal) and inhalation (through the lungs)
Electrolyte A charged molecule (such as a sodium or potassium ion) that is present in body fluids
Element A component of the periodic table; a pure substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means
Enantiomer One of two "mirror images" of a chiral molecule
Endocrine disruptor A synthetic chemical that blocks, mimics, or otherwise interferes with naturally produced hormones
Enzyme A molecule that acts as a catalyst, speeding up biochemical reactions
Fluorescence The property of giving off light at a particular wavelength (emission wavelength) when illuminated by light of a different wavelength (excitation wavelength)
Forensic science The application of scientific knowledge to questions of civil and criminal law
Genetic engineering The manipulation of an organism's genes-introducing, eliminating, or changing them-using modern molecular biology techniques
Glycan A polysaccharide; a polymer of sugars; see oligosaccharide
Glycolipid A lipid covalently linked to a sugar
Glycoprotein A protein covalently linked to a sugar
Glycoscience A branch of chemistry dedicated to the study of the many types of carbohydrate molecules
Green chemistry A chemical philosophy, also called sustainable chemistry, that encourages the design of products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances
Greenhouse gas A gas that raises the temperature of the earth's atmosphere by absorbing part of the long-wave radiation reflected back from the earth's surface. Carbon dioxide is an example
Hydrocarbon An organic molecule consisting of hydrogen and carbon atoms only. An example is petroleum, which contributes to air pollution when released into the atmosphere
Inflammation The body's reaction to noxious stimuli or foreign particles, resulting in swelling, redness, and pain
Inorganic chemistry The branch of chemistry that studies substances not derived from a living organism and/or not composed of carbon and hydrogen (a hydrocarbon)
In silico Literally "within silicon" refers to modeling research conducted with computers only
Ion An electrically charged atom
Ionic bond A force that holds together two electrically charged atoms (called ions)
Lipid A fatty, waxy, or oily compound that will not dissolve in water; it contains hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, but proportionally far less oxygen than carbohydrates
Lipo- A prefix meaning "lipid," or fat
Mass spectrometry A technique used to determine the composition and abundance of the atoms in a molecular substance, starting with a very small amount of sample
Medicinal chemistry An area of study involved with designing, making and developing medicines for use in humans and animals
Metabolic engineering The targeted and purposeful alteration (using genetic engineering techniques) of an organism's metabolic pathways in order to better understand how the pathways work or to redesign them to produce a different set of products
Metabolism A set of enzyme-catalyzed reactions in a living organism that builds and breaks down organic molecules, producing or consuming energy in the process
Metabolite A chemical intermediate in metabolic reactions
Model organism A bacterium, animal, or plant used by scientists to study basic research questions; common model organisms include yeast, flies, worms, frogs, and fish
Nano- A prefix meaning one-billionth
Nanotechnology A branch of science and engineering devoted to the design and production of extremely small electronic devices and circuits built from individual atoms and molecules
Natural product A molecule produced by a living organism--a plant, marine organism or microorganism--that often has a medicinal use
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy A technique used to study the physical, chemical, and biological properties of matter; in this method, scientists subject a molecule to a strong magnet and watch what happens to the atoms that make up the molecule, which provides information about the molecule's compositioN
Nucleic acid A large molecule composed of units of nucleotides; includes both RNA and DNA
Nucleotide A subunit of RNA or DNA containing a base, a phosphate, and a sugar; thousands of nucleotides link up to form a molecule of DNA or RNA
Oligosaccharide A molecule made up of several simple sugars linked together
Organic Carbon-containing
Organic chemistry A branch of chemistry dedicated to the study of the structures, synthesis, and reactions of carbon-containing compounds
Oxo-or oxy- Prefixes meaning oxygen-containing
Peptide A molecule consisting of a chain of amino acids; a small protein fragment
Peptide bond The chemical link joining amino acids in peptides and proteins
Pharmacogenetics The study of how people's genetic make-up affects their response to medicines
Pharmacology The study of drugs, of the body's reaction to drugs, and of the sources of drugs
Phospholipid A lipid made up of glycerol and fatty acids, with a phosphate group attached
Physiology The study of how living organisms function
Plasma membrane The membrane that separates the contents of a cell from its outside environment; it consists of a double layer of phospholipids with embedded proteins
Polymer A large molecule formed by combining many similar, smaller molecules
Polysaccharide Any of a class of carbohydrates consisting of chains of simple sugars; see oligosaccharide, glycan
Product A substance formed as the result of a chemical reaction
Protein A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order and folded shape determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the gene encoding the protein
Protein synthesis The process in which the genetic code carried by messenger RNA directs cellular organelles called ribosomes to produce proteins from amino acids
Reaction rate A measure of how fast a chemical reaction occurs
RNA (ribonucleic acid) A chemical found in cells that serves as an intermediate in the synthesis of proteins
Structural biology A branch of biology dedicated to the study of the three-dimensional structures of proteins and other molecules to help understand the function of these molecules in the cell
Substrate A molecule acted upon by an enzyme
Synthetic chemistry A branch of chemistry in which chemists devise ways to make specific molecules of interest and/or develop new chemical reactions for this purpose
Tissue engineering A field of study that combines cells, engineering and materials methods, with the goal of improving or replacing biological functions
Toxicology The study of the harmful effects of chemicals on living organisms
Toxin A poisonous substance
Transition state The activated form of a molecule that has partly undergone a chemical reaction
Tri- A prefix meaning three
van der Waals force A weak physical force that holds together two molecules or two different parts of the same molecule
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