CHEM 183 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Gerhard Domagk, Crystal Violet, Prontosil

• School: McGill University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 183
• Professor: Ariel Fenster

Document Summary

30% of deaths are cancer, 22% heart disease. Usa: #1 cause is heart disease not cancer. Take a dye known as gentian violet and apply it to bacteria. Noticed some bacteria took up the dye and some did not. Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria; has nothing to do with the weight of the bacteria, associated with name of scientist. Gram-positive take the dye, gram-negative do not. Gram positive act on the thick polysaccharide cell walls, gram negative act on the thin polysaccharide cell walls. Used a dye called trypan red and found it was effective to treat sickness that affects people in africa (didn"t catch what the name of the disease was) caused by bacteria. Nitrogen double bonded with nitrogen in the middle of trypan red. Salvarsan 606 is exact same chemical structure but with two arsenic molecules double bonded instead of two nitrogen molecules- safe arsenic . Idea was it would be more potent and effective.