Importance of Heterocyclic Chemistry: a Review

Heterocyclic compounds are of very much interest in our daily life. Heterocyclic compounds have one or more hetero atoms in their structure. They may be cyclic or non cyclic in nature. Heterocyclic compunds have a wide range of application. They are predominantly used as pharmaceuticals, as agrochemicals and as veterinary products. They also find applications as sanitizers, developers, antioxidants, as corrosion inhibitors, as copolymers, dye stuff. They are used as vehicles in the synthesis of other organic compunds. Some of the natural products e.g. antibiotics such as penicillin’s, cephalosporin; alkaloids such as vinblastine, morphine, reserpine etc. have heterocyclic moiety. INTRODUCTION: Any of a major class of organic chemical compounds characterized by the fact that some or all of the atoms in their molecules are joined in rings containing at least one atom of an element other than carbon. The cyclic part of heterocyclic indicates that at least one ring structure is present in such a compound, while the prefix hetero refers to the noncarbon atoms, or heteroatoms, in the ring. In their general structure, heterocyclic compounds resemble cyclic organic compounds that incorporate only carbon atoms in the rings but the presence of the heteroatoms gives heterocyclic compounds physical and chemical properties that are often quite distinct from those of their all-carbon-ring analogs. General features of Heterocyclic Compounds: The most common heterocycles are those having fiveor six-membered rings and containing heteroatoms of nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), or sulfur (S). The best known of the simple heterocyclic compounds are pyridine, pyrrole, furan, and thiophene. A molecule of pyridine contains a ring of six atoms-five carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. Pyrrole, furan, and thiophene molecules each contain five-membered rings, composed of four atoms of carbon and one atom of nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur, respectively . Pyridine and pyrrole are both nitrogen heterocyclestheir molecules contain nitrogen atoms along with carbon atoms in the rings. The molecules of many biological materials consist in part of pyridine and pyrrole rings, and such materials yield small amounts of pyridine and pyrrole upon strong heating. In fact, both of these substances were discovered in the 1850s in an oily mixture formed by strong heating of bones. Today, pyridine and pyrrole are prepared by synthetic reactions. QUICK RESPONSE CODE IJPSR: ICV4.57 Website: www.ijpsr.com