Application and Occurrence of Amides

Organic chemistry is one of the vast fields of study, owing to the presence of different compounds, cyclic and acyclic groups, and so on. As carbon is known to show excellent catenation properties, it can form different types of bonds with both metals and nonmetals, thereby resulting in the formation of organic aldehydes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and more. Out of all these compound groups, the amides are quite important.

This particular set of compounds is not only required for obtaining other types of organic chemicals but also play a crucial role in biomolecular chemistry. Therefore, understanding the amide applications is important, especially to understand where it originates, its properties and utility in terms of chemistry and all other sub-branches. 

What is amide and how is it derived from the lab? 

To understand the amide application’s importance and several other facts, it would be helpful if you had a quick recap about this particular organic compound group. Amides are formed from a chemical reaction between a carboxylic acid and an amine compound. Carboxylic acids are organic acids having a carbonyl group and an alkyl group like HCOOH and CH3COOH. Amines, on the other hand, are compounds having a carbon-nitrogen bond like C2H5NH2 or CH3NH2. 

When both these compounds react, the nitrogen group from the organic amine replaces the OH- ion from the carboxylic acid, thereby forming the concerned amide. For example: 

CH3CO-OH + CH3NH2  → CH3-CO-NH-CH3 + H2O

Here, acetic or ethanoic acid is combined with methylamine to form water and ethanamide. 

Apart from using the carboxylic acids and amines, there are several other ways implemented to prepare amides. Below are some of the major preparation techniques whose knowledge will prove to be helpful for amide applications importance. 

1. Through the ritter reaction, nitriles can be converted into amides where a mineral acid is added to the alcohol which forms the carbocation molecule. After this, the carbocation combines with the nitrile compound (RCN) to form the nitrilium ion. On hydrolysis of this compound, the amide will form. 
2. In the Beckmann Rearrangement process of oximes, the ketoxime compound is mixed with a strong mineral acid which reduces the chemical and creates amides. 

Types of amides and their differences

There are three types of amides considered for amide applications, and are differentiated based on the number of alkyl groups attached to the nitrogen atom of the compound.

1. In primary amides, the nitrogen atom of the amine group is attached to the carbon of the carboxyl group only. The other two electrons of the nitrogen are connected with hydrogen. 
2. Secondary amides consist of one carboxyl group and one alkyl group where both the parent carbon atoms are attached to the nitrogen atom. 
3. In the tertiary amides, the three electrons of the nitrogen share a bond with two alkyl groups and one carboxylic group. 

Natural sources of amides

To answer the amide applications questions, one needs to understand the occurrence of the compound in nature. Amides contain oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen as the major atoms. Sometimes, phosphorus and sulphur can also be added to form phosphorus amide or sulfonamide. Owing to this reason, you can find this component in biological forms, naturally occurring chemical hubs, and more. 

1. Several fruits and vegetables have different forms of amides present in them, like capsaicin is present in red and green peppers, while piperine is present in black and white pepper. 
2. Ginger is another great source of amide as it contains zingerone.
3. Several enzymes present in both animals and plants are made from amides. 
4. Biomolecules like mitochondria, hormones, and other such components are also made with amides. 
5. The fungus, penicillium, is loaded with different forms of amides.
6. Genetic components like DNA and RNA consist of different types of amides as per the nitrogenous sequences. 
7. Proteins are biomolecules formed from long changes of repeated amide units. 

How can amides be used in different manners?

In the below section, we have described some of the major amide applications in different types of industries so that you can have a clear idea. 

• Pharmaceutical industry

One of the major areas of amide applications is in the pharmaceutical industry where the compounds are used for making diazepam (a form of benzodiazepine) and thalidomide. Also, the amide forms of sulfonic acids are used for manufacturing several sulphur-based drugs and medicines. Thiopental is one of the main intravenous anaesthetics which is prepared from an amide. 

• Preparation of dyes

Apart from the medicines and drugs, the amides are utilised for the preparation of different types of dyes, starting with the normal hair colour dyes to the ink. For example, the indigo colour is manufactured synthetically from amides along with mauve, fast green, allura red, and more. 

Conclusion 

From this entire discussion, you can understand that amides are considered as linking chemicals through which several higher compounds can be manufactured. As carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen have several pairs of unpaired electrons, the amides are highly reactive and can be used to form polymers like nylon, polyurethane, and more. Apart from this, the occurrence of this compound in natural sources has heightened the importance to learn more about amide applications in real life. With proper study and research materials, it can be known whether these amides can be manufactured synthetically on a large scale. For example, the synthetic indigo, consisti