Organic Chemistry

Carbon forms much of the core scaffold that provides biological molecules with their three-dimensional shapes and structures. From DNA and RNA to proteins, sugars, and lipids, carbon is found everywhere. As such, doctors, veterinarians, dentists, pharmacologists, chemical engineers, and chemists all need to have an understanding of organic molecules, their properties, and their reactivity. Organic molecules play key roles in the foods we eat and the soaps, detergents, plastics, cosmetics, medicines, insecticides, and pesticides that we use on a near-daily basis. In addition, organic chemistry and the manipulation of organic molecules is often the key to developing new avenues of discovery in both materials science and medicine and achieving a better understanding of the world around us.