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Isomers are defined as one of several organic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and therefore different properties. They are three types isomers: structural isomers, geometric isomers, and enantoimers.
Organic molecules are formed by the carbon chains that form the skeletons. The skeletons can have many variations ranging from being straight, branched or arranged in closed rings. Some of the skeletons have double bonds which causes a variance in number and their locations. This variation inside the carbon skeleton is one of the important sources of the molecular complexity as well as the diversity in living matter. Also the atoms of other elements can be bonded to the skeleton at the available sites. Isomers are one or to more molecules that contain the same atoms with different arrangements. The molecules are grouped together to form compounds.
The difference in the main architecture of organic molecules can be seen in the isomers. Theses compounds have the same molecular formula but different structures therefore different properties. There are three main types of isomers: structural isomers, geometric isomers and enantiomers.
The first type are the structural isomers they are different because the covalent arrangement of their atoms. As the carbon skeletons increase in size. The possible number of isomers increase. There are only two types of butanes but there are 18 variations and 366,319 possible structural isomers. Then the structural isomers may also vary because of the difference in the locations of the double bonds.
The second type are called the geometric isomers. They all have the same covalent partnership yet they have a difference in their spatial arrangement. Geometric isomers occur from the inflexibility of the double bonds, unlike the single bond. They will not allow the atoms to join geometric isomers that can dramatically affect the biological activities of the organic molecules.
The third kind are known as enantiomers. These are molecules that appear to be mirror images of each other. They look like ball and stick figures, where the middle carbon is called an asymmetric carbon. This is because it is attached to four different atoms or groups of atoms. The four of these groups can be arranged in space about the asymmetric carbon in two different ways that are complete mirror images of each other. If you look at it, you can see a right-handed version and a left-handed version of the asymmetric carbons. The cells can distinguish the isomers based on their different shapes. Normally, an isomer is biologically active and others are inactive.
The enantiomers are extremely important to people in the pharmaceutical industry. This is because two enantiomers of a drug may not be equally effective. If they are not distrusted properly the drug can produce harmful effects. There are several examples of this throughout history. One small example is of a drug that was prescribed to pregnant women. One of the enantiomers acted as a sedative, which it was supposed to, and the other caused birth defects. All organisms are very sensitive to even the most subtle variations in molecular architecture. This can show that molecules have emergent properties that depend on the specific arrangement of their atoms.
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