Awaiting your precious spots - pure excitement

As an organic chemist working in a research lab, I spend most of the time running reactions that had never been run or casualy touched by anyone. One could truly say we are creating future by our synthetic endeavours. New materials, life-saving medicines, pesticides, fungicides, food additives are in large result of countless hours spend in the laboratories of research institutes.

This is what happened yesterday: Prior to my “microwave trip”, I prepared my tin-complexed sugar compound then, lyophilized it, so in the morning it was safe and sound for my selective alkylation taking place in a microwave reactor at the Institute of Macromolecular chemistry. TLC analysis made me wonder if everything went all right, as I was marching from the institute to my “home” institute.

Two varying reaction conditions were performed, the one that I was to repeat after previous successful trial (MW 30 min 80°C, 90°C, 110°C, 130°C) did not turn out as wished. Where is the spot? Where is the one, I am looking after? …. not that one, the one that correlates my standard …

Contrary to this, my second batch was reacted under shortened reaction time at slightly elevated temperature (MW 15 min, 140°C) and showed previously “unseen” spots … one would say, that is too complex mixture to play with and due to unconcentrated standard of similar compound, I could not clearly make a decision to confirm my desired compound’s spot. As these mixtures were greeted with my special eluent systems and detecting agents, I observed to my surprise, that the shortened reaction time did indeed give the desired spot, while on the other hand reaction I pretty much repeated did offer only wishful amount of it. How come???

Although TLC spots are helpful in confirming the forming product, it happened multiple times that even correlating spot on TLC may not be the targeted molecule … or that within 1 spot multiple compounds are hiding.

I proceeded with a gentle flash chromatography. Sometime already passed by … it was 10 minutes after midnight, pitch dark, but somewhere deep in your soul, you feel the warmth of your excitement. Pure excitement of awaiting your spots to finally come out and to visualize under detecting agents correctly. RFs’ fit nicely, they burn in sulfuric acid, give distinct color in sulfuric p-anisaldehyde and CPM dip solutions. Great! Fractions 34-40 are taken to rotovap, then freeze-dried … time to sleep 2:50 in the morning. I do not feel as tired as I was hour earlier, when I almost felt asleep doing column – thanks Ar bomb for catching me –

It will a pleasant sleep ... just waiting for NMR confirmation next morning.

Perhaps these moments, when we get excited about our chemistries is what drives us further and further, sometimes sacrificing huge part of our lives in order to move the boundaries of current knowledge. It is fun, it is worth it and I love it! Now, it is Friday afternoon, I am almost done for the week, excited to tell my little princess about my story.