The Discovery of a Chemical Reaction has the Potential to Streamline Production of Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals and chemistry go hand in hand. Effective medical treatment usually requires a detailed understanding of chemistry.  Our society relies heavily on the use of medicine, the vast majority of the population has taken at least one pharmaceutical in their lifetime whether it be an over the counter medication like Advil or Tylenol, or a prescription drug.

A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have come across a chemical reaction that is the key to a problem that organic chemists have been trying to solve for years, a link to the article can be found here.

The discovery of a new chemical reaction has enabled us to reduce the cost and time required to manufacture and test pharmaceuticals.  Researchers discovered that phthaloyl peroxide (C8H4O4) is the secret to producing phenols from aromatic hydrocarbons (Uni. of TX at Austin). Phenols play important roles in our metabolism, and are used in topical anesthetics and things like ear-drops (Shrestha). The process that the researchers discovered can also be applied to other challenges in organic chemistry, including the testing of drugs in a more effective and easier way.  We have generally had to use liver microsomes to observe how the body reacts to different drugs, now we can use the products of this chemical reaction to do the same thing but it is more reliable than liver microsomes (Uni. of TX at Austin).

I think the discovery of this reaction is a triumph because it is a major stepping stone in the discovery of new ways to generate chemicals that have traditionally been hard to come by.  It can also provide a more reliable way of testing how the body will metabolize drugs and other substances.  By providing a more reliable way to test drugs, it may also shorten the amount of time it takes to properly test a vaccine.

Do you think that the ability to produce and test pharmaceuticals faster and more effectively is a good thing?