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Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Monday's Molecule #147

 
Give me the complete, unambiguous, name of this molecule to win a free lunch. Post your answer in the comments. I'll hold off releasing any comments for 24 hours. The first one with the correct answer wins. I will only post correct answers to avoid embarrassment.

There could be two winners. If the first correct answer isn't from an undergraduate student then I'll select a second winner from those undergraduates who post the correct answer. You will need to identify yourself as an undergraduate in order to win. (Put "undergraduate" at the bottom of your comment.) Every undergraduate who posts a correct answer will have their names entered in a Christmas draw. The winner gets a free autographed copy of my book! (One entry per week. If you post a correct answer every week you will have ten chances to win.)

Some past winners are from distant lands so their chances of taking up my offer of a free lunch are slim. (That's why I can afford to do this!)

Name the molecule shown in the figure. Remember that your name has to be unambiguous. The best way to do this is to use the full IUPAC name but usually there are traditional names that will do.

Winners
Nov. 2009: Jason Oakley, Alex Ling
Oct. 17: Bill Chaney, Roger Fan
Oct. 24: Bill Chaney

UPDATE: The winner is Joseph C. Somody.


12 comments :

Anonymous said...

Allantoin

--Joseph C. Somody, Undergraduate

Jeffrey Shallit said...

(2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-4-yl)urea

Allantoin?

DK said...

It's allantoin - which should be good enough. But if you want the crazy "unambiguous" version, then IUPAC name (according to Wikipedia) is 2,5-Dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl) urea.

BTW, are you saying that N-[(5S)-5-amino-5-carboxypentyl]-L-glutamic acid is incorrect name for saccarophine???

RaulFelix said...

Allantoin or (2,5-Dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl) urea

4588 said...

2,5-Dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl urea

Brent Wilson said...

The molecule is (2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-4-yl)urea

*not an undergrad

Quidam said...

The common name is Allantoin, its sytematic name is 1-(2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-4-yl)urea

I am not an undergraduate, I'm a mining engineer which should qualify me for something

Goran Narancic said...

Is Google allowed? I found the solution fairly easily using it...

Bill Chaney said...

Larry-

The molecule is allantoin. It is the secreted breakdown product in purine metabolism in a number of organisms, including mammals, except for the great apes (in which humans are included, of course).

The IUPAC name is (2,5-Dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl) urea.

Best wishes,

Bill Chaney

Larry Moran said...

DK asks,

BTW, are you saying that N-[(5S)-5-amino-5-carboxypentyl]-L-glutamic acid is incorrect name for saccarophine???

I'm really not sure if that name is correct for L-saccharopine but it doesn't really matter since your answer wasn't the first one I received. Bill Chaney beat you by two minutes!

Larry Moran said...

I said,

...but it doesn't really matter since your answer wasn't the first one I received. Bill Chaney beat you by two minutes!

Oops! My mistake. DK beat Bill by 24 hours!!

Now I'll have to check and see whether his name for the molecule is correct.

Thanks to Bill Chaney for pointing out my error.

DK said...

Now I'll have to check and see whether his name for the molecule is correct.

Sounds like a lot of pain!

It is very likely correct - I copied it from one of the many chemical compounds databases and my experience is that they are very accurate (they list tons of synonyms, including the ones that come from another end, naming it a lysine derivative). In truth, of course, I had absolutely no idea what the compound is, much less what its crazy name might be. :-)