Molecule of the Month - July - Thalidomide

[Armel Le Bail]

>July's MOTM is the notorious drug, thalidomide.  The pages have been
>written by one of the undergraduates here at Bristol, and include a nice
>introductory discussion on various types of isomerism, including the
>optical isomerism that was responsible for thalidomide's side-effects.
>
>http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/MOTM/motm.htm

Molecules are sometimes packed in crystals. Two crystalline forms of
thalidomide are known and structurally characterized (alpha and
beta forms). Which form is in the drug bottles ? Not a word about
crystalline phases in the MOTM. Does these 2 crystalline varieties
produce different isomers when the drug pass in solution inside
human being bodies ?

Best,


Armel Le Bail - Universite du Maine, Laboratoire des Fluorures,
CNRS ESA 6010, Av. O. Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France
http://www.cristal.org/


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