Uses of Carboxylic Acids Introduction to carboxylic acids: Organic compounds contain carbon-oxygen double bond (>C=O) called carboxyl

group, which is one of the mainly important functional groups in organic chemistry. The carbonyl compounds in which carbonyl grouping is bonded to oxygen are recognized as carboxylic acids and their derivatives as in compounds where carbon is attached to nitrogen and to halogens are called amides and acyl halides correspondingly. Uses of Carboxylic Acids: In algehydes, the carbonyl group is bonded to a carbon and hydrogen while in the ketones, it is bonded to two carbon atoms. The general formula of compound is given below:

Aldehydes, ketones with carboxylic acids are widespread in plants and animal kingdom. They play a significant role in biochemical processes of life. They add smell and flavour to nature, for example, vanillin, salicylaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde contain very pleasant fragrances. They are used in several food produce and pharmaceuticals to include flavors. Some of these families are manufactured for apply as solvents that are acetone and for prepare materials similar to adhesives, paints, resins, perfumes, plastics, fabrics, etc.

Nomenclature and structure of carboxyl group: As carboxylic acids are amongst the mainly basic organic compounds to survive isolated since nature, a large number of them are recognized with their common names. The common names end with the suffix-ic acid and have been derivative from latin or greek names of their natural source. For example: formic acid (HCOOH) is first obtained from red ants, acetic acid since rancid butter. Here numbering the carbon chain, the carboxylic carbons is numbered one. For naming compounds contain more than one carboxyl group, the end e of the alkane is retained. The numbers of carboxyl groups are indicated by accumulation the multiplicative prefix, di, tri, etc. to the name oic. The position of COOH group are indicated by the Arabic numeral before the multiplicative prefix.

Uses of Carboxylic Acids:

* Methanoic acid: use as rubber, textile, dyeing, leather and electroplating industries. * Ethanoic acid: use as solvent and as vinegar in food industry. * Hexanedioic acid: manufacture of nylon 6:6. * Ester of benzoic acid: use as perfumery. * Sodium benzoate: use as a food preservative. * Higher fatty acids: use as manufacture of soaps and detegents.

Examples, Uses and Occurrence of Esters Examples of Esters, their Occurrence, Production and Uses

a) Methyl Salicylate (or Oil of Wintergreen) has the chemical formula C8H8O3. It is prepared mostly by esterification of salicylic acid with methanol and is present naturally in the leaves of Gaultheria procumbens and in the bark of Betula lenta. Methyl Salicylate is used in perfumery and for flavouring sweets, as well as a therapeutic use as a counter-irritant. b) Ethyl Acetate (or Acetic Acid Ethyl Ester, or Vinegar Naphtha) has the chemical formula C4H8O2, and is obtained by slow distillation of a mixture of acetic acid, ethyl alcohol and sulfuric acid. Its uses are varied, and include a pharmaceutical aid (flavour); artificial fruit essences; solvent for nitrocellulose, varnishes, lacquers and aeroplane dopes; cleaning textiles, and more! c) Ethyle Acrylate (or Acrylic Acid Ethyl Ester) has the chemical formula C5H8O2, and is prepared from ethylene chlorohydrin or acrylonitrile, ethanol, and sulfuric acid; also by an oxo reaction from acetylene, carbon monoxide and ethanol in the presence of suitable catalysts. Ethyl Acrylate is used as a monomer in the manufacture of water emulsion paint vehicles, in the production of emulsion-based polymers used in textile and paper coatings, leather finish resins and adhesives, and imparts flexibility to hard films.

Alcohol Use, Misuse and Abuse

For many centuries, beer has slaked men's thirst and enlivened social gatherings. Originating in prehistoric times, intoxicating beverages have lightened spirits, brought wassail to banquets, and filled cups uplifted in divine worship. But alcohol has a dark, exploitative, destructive side.

Mundane Uses
In wine, beer, and ale, alcohol has found diverse uses, including the mollification of feuding adversaries, giving courage in battle, sealing pacts, celebrating festivals, and seducing lovers, observes Drug Rehabs, part of an organization to help people find treatment for alcohol abuse.

Liturgical Uses

At the altar, Catholics believe Jesus materializes in consecrated bread and wine. Christians use wine to symbolize the blood of Jesus. Indeed, Catholics believe that wine can be transformed into Christ's blood.

Misuse

Using alcohol for any immoral purpose is misuse. Misuse refers to incorrect use, states Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Ed. Plying a woman with liquor in preparing to rape her would exemplify alcohol's misuse.

Abuse

Drunk driving imperils others along with the driver. Alcohol abuse is a drinking pattern leading to significant and recurrent adverse consequences, according to the American Psychological Association. Such consequences can include shirking obligations at work, school, or home; getting into legal difficulties, as when driving drunk; or recurrent interpersonal problems.

Tolerance

Like any other psychoactive drug, alcohol produces physiological tolerance. Alcohol abusers are likelier than other users to develop physiological tolerance for alcohol, requiring increasingly large doses to experience its effect.

Ethanol in alcoholic beverages has been consumed by humans since prehistoric times for a variety of hygienic, dietary, medicinal, religious, and recreational reasons. The consumption of large doses of ethanol causes drunkenness (intoxication), which may lead to a hangover as its effects wear off. Depending upon the dose and the regularity of its consumption, ethanol can cause acute respiratory failure or death. Because ethanol impairs judgment in humans, it can be a catalyst for reckless or irresponsible behavior. The LD50 of ethanol in rats is 10.3 g/kg.[7]

Other alcohols are substantially more poisonous than ethanol, partly because they take much longer to be metabolized and partly because their metabolism produces substances that are even more toxic. Methanol (wood alcohol), for instance, is oxidized to formaldehyde and then to the poisonous formic acid in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase and formaldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes, respectively; accumulation of formic acid can lead to blindness or death.[8] Likewise, poisoning due to other alcohols such as ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol are due to their metabolites, which are also produced by alcohol dehydrogenase.[9][10] An effective treatment to prevent toxicity after methanol or ethylene glycol ingestion is to administer ethanol. Alcohol dehydrogenase has a higher affinity for ethanol, thus

preventing methanol from binding and acting as a substrate. Any remaining methanol will then have time to be excreted through the kidneys.[8][11][12]

Methanol itself, while poisonous, has a much weaker sedative effect than ethanol. Some longer-chain alcohols such as n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, t-butanol, and 2-methyl-2-butanol do, however, have stronger sedative effects, but also have higher toxicity than ethanol.[13][14] These longer chain alcohols are found as contaminants in some alcoholic beverages and are known as fusel alcohols,[15][16] and are reputed to cause severe hangovers although it is unclear if the fusel alcohols are actually responsible.[17] Many longer chain alcohols are used in industry as solvents and are occasionally abused by alcoholics,[18][19] leading to a range of adverse health effects.[20]