I suspect I have the same website in my favourites, I felt I should start with ones I at least remember. Sad but true. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Go here: http://www.peregrineinc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=42 and see why I too am excited by this molecule. (I think Peregrine is a great buy now - Just got 5 million development loan from biotec knowledgable funding sources plus conditional 5 more and have 8+million in cash to continue programs. They do not make big deal about it, but some are in Russia and India.) PS their web site is full of old material. To see what is happening now, go to: http://ir.peregrineinc.com/eventdetail.cfm?EventID=62967 and listen to the 10Dec08 report. Do you have any idea as to why "cell stress" makes it "flip" to ouside of cell walls?
Hmm may have to look it up. But I would hypothesise that there are translocases in the lipid bilayer of cell membranes and like many enzymes, these could be regulated by levels of intracellular calcium. Cellular stress causes intracellular calcium to increase, which could activate the translocases and induce the phospholipids to be translocated in the membrane ie flip. Since viral infection has been seen to be a cause for this flip, it would appear to be a flag for an immune reaction, to mark the cells for "deletion" by the immune system. Not certain how blocking this immune reaction is helpful though.
This may be a little more effective, Trippy. If you don't have an addictive personality and are good with closet chemistry. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Aaah, no, I'll pass thanks. I much prefer mine, and mine's legal. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I don't actually use any drugs, but their chemical structures have always fascinated me. Lysergic acid diethylamine: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
yeah suuure...you just happen to like the way molecule looks like of LSD. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I'm a biochemist, what do you think interests me about this sort of thing? What did I say in my first post in this thread, about finding a certain elegance in expressing a chemical structure in such a manner? I have no need to defend myself, nor do I care if you believe what I say regarding my drug use. You are inconsequential to me. So how about we not speak with each other, deal?
Idle_Mind, all I ask is for you to clarify why is it that you picked lysergic acid to be your favorite molecule...
I couldn't possibly pick a favourite. And if you've noticed, that is the third molecule I've posted in this thread -- my first choice being a vitamin. I happen to like the aesthetics of linked rings, which LSD has.
The thing that's always intrigued me about the structures you've posted, is they all share the same skeketon: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Which is present in chocolate.
Which is also interesting to me, because with small changes to functional groups, you swing from a very illegal and harmful substance to one that is found in something that most people enjoy very frequently. Another small change and you'll have a hormone, or a neurotransmitter. The discovery of LSD is in fact an interesting story, I agree.
And that's part of what fascinates me about chemistry in general, such small changes have such profound effects. Skunks, garlic, and onions are another good example.
Chemokine Chemokines are my favorite immunity defense structures. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Carbon nanotubes. So many interesting properties arise from their (one-dimensional) shape. Also cause cell death.
With your name. you may like oleic acids, which are banana shaped. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Alternatively, you could say it looks like an inch worm which has seen something surprising.