Question: What new compounds are you trying to make

Julia Griffen answered on 10 Jun 2011:

OOOhh.. good topical question!

So the compounds I’m trying (I say trying as I haven’t mad them yet!) are potential medicines for diabetes.
The compounds I make mimic, and look like sugars, with bits of there structure altered to affect there activity.
We eat many different types of sugar molecules within our diet, so our body knows what they are and has the systems in place to transport and ‘deal with’ them.
We want our molecules to look like sugars so they are recognised by the body and can be transported around our body to the targeted area.
If the molecules we made were completely different to what our body is used to, the compounds may be broken down by own immune system or even have a toxic or harmful effect.
So how do my compounds differ from normal sugars?? Glucose for example, the most common sugar molecule is a molecule containing carbon and oxygen. In my work i’m trying to make sugars containing nitrogen instead or oxygen. This small change should have a large enough effect to act as a medicine, but a small enough effect not to be toxic!

Hope that makes sense… :-S
If you’d like me to explain any unfamiliar terms or expand in any other areas let me know!