Claisen-Schmidt Condensation (aldol condensation)

(from wikipiedia)

An aldol condensation is an organic reaction in which an enolor an enolate ion reacts with a carbonyl compound to form a β-hydroxyaldehyde or β-hydroxyketone, followed by a dehydrationto give a conjugated enone.

In its mechanism, it involves the nucleophilic addition of a ketone enolate to analdehyde to form a β-hydroxy ketone, or "aldol" (aldehyde + alcohol), a structural unit found in many naturally occurring molecules and pharmaceuticals.

An aldol condensation differs from an aldol reaction in that a H20 molecule is lost to form a C=C double bond.

While an aldol reaction involves a nucleophilic addiction of a ketone enolate (nucleophile) to an aldehyde, where the H of a C=C bond attaches to the O=C of the aldehyde to form OH and the C= of nucleophile bonds with C of aldehyde to form a C-C single bond.

(Diagrams always speaks clearer than words =))

Literature Review

Looking through the journals that my supervisor has co-authored, looks like I'll probably be dealing with synthesis of flavanoids and its collection, reaction monitoring, identification and maybe some microbiological screening. ^^

...I need to refresh back on my Spectroscopy for organic chemistry...

I am thankful, of my 2 years of laboratory experience in university. Because the laboratory methods I'm learning in my internship now, is an advancement or continuation of what I have learnt in my chemistry courses.

Which reminds me of what my lecturer once told me (by memory, modified): "The courses that you have learnt, is sufficiently enough to be applied in any outside laboratories" when I voiced out my concern that I am not capable enough intellectually and experience wise to work in the outside world.

This makes me even more prouder of my Chemistry Department of University of Malaya!

Which means...in future, I would have to take on all courses , both compulsory and electives, with requisite laboratory work to improve myself!

Go Chemist-Joanne!

First Day

(I am nearly always accompanied with my fellow 5 interns, but here, I will use "I" )

My first stop at FRIM on a dull quiet morning was at the HR department, where I and my fellow interns were given the relevant documents to fill up and hand in. Then I headed to the Natural Products division laboratory, where I was supposed to meet my supervisor.

Unfortunately, she was on leave, but she gave some directions to me, which was to read some of the journals (co-authored by her) and manual on column chromatography and TLC methods.

Since reading can be done at a later time, I chose to observe my fellow interns as they did their work while being instructed by their supervisors. There were two groups I obseved:

1st:

Isolation of organic compounds by soaking raw materials in organic solvent first and then do claisen-schmidt condensation with rotary evaporator, and then compound isolation and identification with TLC

2nd:

Weighing of 32 different plant raw materials, before soaking overnight in solvent before compound isolation

In short, mostly learnt about isolation of compound and TLC method. Also introduced to HPLC method and column chromatography.

Given a trip around the laboratories and introduced to many analytical machines such as HPLC, FTIR, etc

Homework: read journals and get to know different stationary eluents for column chromatography, and know the principles behind HPLC.

Night before First Day

I the night before the first day of my internship, I was busy with monsoon cleaning (instead of spring cleaning, because it was raining) my rented condominium with my fellow five FRIM intern crewmates. And it was around 2am before I finally settled down with everything ready for the next morning. However a mixture of excitement, nervousness, uncertainty and unfamiliarity was inside my guts, hence the only way to calm me down? Internet surfing until 2.30am, and my head finally touched the pillow with comforter wrapped around me at 2.40am.