Chemistry: An Introduction for Medical and Health Sciences

Introduction and how to use the book.

Chapter 1   Starting chemistry.

1.1      Terminology and processes used in chemistry.   

1.2      Atoms and things.

1.3      Chemical reactions and the Periodic Table

Chapter 2    Covalent Compounds and Organic Molecules.

2.1.      How to make stable molecules.

2.2       Covalent compounds.

2.3       General Properties of Covalent Compounds.

2.4       Characteristic shapes and bond angles within covalent molecules.

2.5       Some Covalent bonds with  slight ionic character.

2.6       Double bonded  Carbon Compounds or unsaturated bonds.    

2.7       Some further compounds of carbon.

2.8        The carbon cycle.

2.9        Isomerism. Some Different arrangements of atoms within a molecule.

2.10      Naming Organic compounds.

2.11      Ring Structures.

2.12      Compounds of carbon containing other groups                 

2.13      Some further examples with explanations.              

Chapter 3   Organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. alcohols and ethers.

3.1        Alcohols, C_nH_2n+1OH.

3.2        Properties of monohydric alcohols (one oh group).   

3.3        Other alcohols. di and tri hydric alcohols (two and three oh groups).  

3.4        Aromatic  oh compounds, phenols. 

3.5        Ethers as isomers of alcohols.

Chapter 4  Carbonyl Compounds, compounds containing C=O group.

4.1        Aldehydes and Ketones; Carboxylic acids and esters.

4.2        Carbohydrates or mono-saccharides.

4.3        Di-saccharides.

4.4        Digestion of sugars.

4.5        More about sugars.    

4.6        Carboxylic acids.      

4.7        Salts and esters.                

4.8        Lipids or fats.

4.9        Chemical energy in cells. 

4.10      Chemicals in Food.       

4.11      Soaps.               

Chapter 5    Organic compounds containing nitrogen.

5.1        Amines and Amino acids.

5.2        Amino acids.

5.3        Peptide formation and protein synthesis.

5.4        Hydrolysis (action of water) of peptides.      

5.5        Other properties of amino acids.      

5.6         Protein metabolism.

5.7         Nucleic acids, DNA and RNA.        

Chapter 6     Vitamins, Steroids, Hormones and Enzymes.

6.1         Vitamins.     

6.2         Steroids and Hormones.

6.3         Enzymes.       

Chapter 7      Ions, Electrolytes, metals, and ionic  bonding.  

7.1          Introduction to ionic bonding.

7.2          Some common properties of Ions and ionic bonds.

7.3          Electrolytes and ions of the body.

7.4          Major cations in the body.

7.5          Anions in body fluids.    

7.6          Balance between Fluids.    

7.7          Essential elements present in small quantities, micro nutrients and minerals.

7.8          Cancer treatments and chemotherapy that use metal compounds.

Chapter 8      Water.

8.1           Water introduction, what makes water so unique?...

8.2           Chemical reactions in aqueous solution.

8.3           Dissolving and solubility.

8.4           Osmosis.          

8.5           Dialysis.          

8.6           Colloids.     

8.7           Water, washing and Detergents.

8.8           Water Vapour.

8.9            Evaporation from skin.

8.10          Solid Water.

8.11          Hydrolysis.  

Chapter 9       Acids and Bases.

9.1            Acids, PH.      

9.2            Bases AND ALKALI 

9.3            Bases containing nitrogen.

9.4            Amino acid and Zwitter ions.

9.5            Salts.             

9.6            Neutralisation.

9.7            Buffer solutions.

9.8            Buffers in the body.

9.9            Digestion and acid attack.

9.10          Acids in the Environment.                 

Chapter 10        Oxidation and Reduction.

10.1          Definition of oxidation and reduction.

10.2          Burning and Oxidation.

10.3          Some applications of redox reactions to metabolic processes, superoxides.

10.4          Nitric Oxide.

10.5          Oxygen gas.  

Chapter 11      Analytical Techniques.

11.1          The need for analysis       

11.2          Mass Spectroscopy.              

11.3          Chromatography.              

11.4          Spectroscopy of various types. Infra red, ultra violet and visible.   

11.5          Electron Microscopes and scanning electron microscopy(sem).          

11.6          Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

11.7          Some general conclusions.

Chapter 12         Radioactivity.

12.1          Introduction to the effects of radiation.

12.2          Isotopes and Radioactivity.              

12.3          Splitting the nucleus of atoms.    

12.4          Properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation.

12.5          Half Life.      

12.6          Radiation everywhere.

12.7          Some conclusions.

Chapter 13   Rates of chemical reactions.

13.1          Effect of temperature on recations and on metabolism.

13.2          Why does a reaction slow down on cooling ?

13.3          Free radicals.

13.4          Effect of concentration on chemical reactions.     

13.5          Catalysts and enzymes.

13.6          How catalysts and enzymes work.

13.7          Application of chemical reactions to drug use.    

Chapter 14   Overview of chemicals fighting disease.  

14.1         Drugs ancient and modern.      

14.2         Cancer treatments.     

14.3         Pain killers.

 14.4        Stopping attack by 'aliens' to our bodies: viruses and bacteria.       

14.5         Aids and HIV.

14.6         Gene therapy.

14.7         Some existing drugs and their change of use. 

Chapter 15   Numbers and quantities.

15.1          Standard notation and powers of 10.                     

15.2          Moles.

15.3          Powers of numbers and logarithm.      

15.4          Moles in formulae and equations.

15.5          Moles in solution.

15.6          Concentration in parts per million.     

15.7          Dilutions.

15.8          Percentage by mass.

Appendices.

1.              The Periodic Table of elements.

2.              List of atomic masses of the elements.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index.