A Hydrocarbon to Be Proud of
A Hydrocarbon to Be Proud of
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The stamp from Czechoslovakia illustrated in this note was issued on 4 July 1966 to celebrate the centennial of the Czech Chemical Society, which is one of the oldest chemical societies in the world and is still engaged today in all aspects of the chemical enterprise in the Czech Republic and elsewhere. Prominently featured on the stamp is a molecular diagram of adamantane, the well-known saturated hydrocarbon with a diamond-like structure and a smell reminiscent of camphor. It is a remarkably stable organic compound due to its conformational rigidity and, although it has relatively few applications, some of its derivatives (e.g., amantadine, rimantadine) are important antiviral drugs against influenza.
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Why is adamantane such an iconic molecule in Czechoslovakia, anyway? It turns out that this robust cage hydrocarbon was first isolated in 1933 from a sample of Moravian crude oil analyzed by S. Landa and V. Machácek at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague. Interestingly, there is another Czech connection to adamantane: It was first synthesized in 1941 by the famous Vladimir Prelog, co-recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Although Prelog was born in Sarajevo (part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time), he earned his Ph.D. from CTU in 1929 and worked in Prague until 1935. The 100th anniversary of Prelog’s birth was remembered by Bosnia and Herzegovina with a stamp issued on 25 October 2006.
Written by Daniel Rabinovich <drabinov@email.uncc.edu>.
A brief history of chemistry in the Czech Republic was published in Chemistry International (1998, Vol. 20, pp. 77–80).
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- 2008–2009 Bureau Membership
- Reflections on the Position of Science in Multidisciplinary Approaches
- A Hydrocarbon to Be Proud of
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- “Global Climate Change”– Monograph for Secondary Schools
- Recommendations for Codes of Conduct
- Provisional Recommendations
- Representation of Configuration in Coordination Polyhedra and the Extension of Current Methodology to Coordination Numbers Greater than Six (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Definitions of Terms Relating to the Structure and Processing of Sols, Gels, Networks, and Inorganic- Organic Hybrid Materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)
- Alcohols with Water
- Nomenclatura de Química Inorgánica
- “Photochemistry for A Better Life”
- ChemSpider and Its Expanding Web
- The Evolving Identity of Chemistry
- Heterocyclic Chemistry
- Greenhouse Gases: Mitigation and Utilization
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- Stable Isotope
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- From the Editor
- Contents
- Toward Global Leadership in Knowledge Sharing
- 2008–2009 Bureau Membership
- Reflections on the Position of Science in Multidisciplinary Approaches
- A Hydrocarbon to Be Proud of
- Part II: Terminology in Nuclear Processes– Misconceptions and Inaccuracies
- Proceedings of the World Chemistry Leadership Meeting
- IUPAC in Torino, Italy–Part II
- Polymer International–IUPAC Award 2008: Call for Nominations
- IUPAC InChI/InChIKey Project Joins Microsoft BioIT Alliance
- IUPAC InChI/InChIKey Project Joins Microsoft BioIT Alliance
- Chemical Heritage Foundation Names Thomas R. Tritton President
- Zafra Lerman Receives George Brown Award for International Scientific Collaboration
- In Memoriam: The Oldest Active Chemist Dies at the Age of Nearly One Hundred
- Electrochemical DNA-Based Biosensors: Terms and Methodology
- Recent Advances in Nomenclature, Properties and Units: Strategy for Promoting SC-NPU Achievements
- A Multilingual Encyclopedia of Polymer Terminology
- “Global Climate Change”– Monograph for Secondary Schools
- Recommendations for Codes of Conduct
- Provisional Recommendations
- Representation of Configuration in Coordination Polyhedra and the Extension of Current Methodology to Coordination Numbers Greater than Six (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Definitions of Terms Relating to the Structure and Processing of Sols, Gels, Networks, and Inorganic- Organic Hybrid Materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)
- Alcohols with Water
- Nomenclatura de Química Inorgánica
- “Photochemistry for A Better Life”
- ChemSpider and Its Expanding Web
- The Evolving Identity of Chemistry
- Heterocyclic Chemistry
- Greenhouse Gases: Mitigation and Utilization
- Emulsion Polymers
- Applied Thermodynamics
- Polar Research
- Solid State Chemistry
- Stable Isotope
- Polymer Processing
- Mark Your Calendar
- Chemistry in a Changing World – New Perspective Concerning the IUPAC Family
