Bonding models and AIDS drugs

In 1989, researchers using X-ray crystallography—a technique in which X-rays are scattered from crystals of the molecule of interest—determined the structure of a molecule called HIV-protease. HIV-protease is a protein (a class of large biological molecules) synthesized by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This particular protein is crucial to the virus s ability to multiply and cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Without HIV-protease, HIV cannot spread in the human body because the virus cannot replicate. In other words, without HIV-protease, AIDS can t develop. 

I We will discuss X-ray crystallography in more I detail in Section 11.10. 

I We will discuss proteins in more detail in I Chapter 21. 

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Bonding Models and AIDS Drugs 325 10.4 Covalent Lewis Structures Electrons Shared 328 10.7... 

These relatively simple models-Just lines and dots on a piece of paper-predict important properties of the substances around you every day. Our understanding of chemical bonding has allowed us to put together molecules that never existed before. Many of these molecules have impacted society and changed the way we live. For example, nylon, plastic, latex, and AIDS drugs were all synthesized by chemists who understood chemical bonding and knew how to put molecules together to achieve specific purposes. Flow would your life be different without them ... 

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