Synthesis urea, accidental

Wohler is regarded as a pioneer in organic chemistry as a result of his (accidental) synthesizing urea in 1828, which electrified the scientific community. Until 1828, it was believed that organic substances could only be formed under the influence of the vital force in the bodies of animals and plants. Wohler proved by the artificial preparation of urea from inorganic materials that this view was false. Urea synthesis was integral for... 

Urea (yoo-REE-uh) is a white crystalline solid or powder with almost no odor and a salty taste. It is a product of the decomposition of proteins in the bodies of terrestrial animals. Urea is produced in the liver and transferred to the kidneys, from which it is excreted in urine. The compound was first identified as a component of urine by French chemist Hilaire Marin Rouelle (1718-1799) in 1773. It was first synthesized accidentally in 1828 by German chemist Friedrich Wohler (1800-1882). The synthesis of urea was one of the most important historical events in the history of chemistry. It was the first time that a scientist had synthesized an organic compound. Prior to Wohler s discovery, scientists believed that organic compounds could be made only by the intervention of some supernatural force. Wohler s discovery showed that organic compounds were subject to the same set of natural laws as were inorganic compounds (compounds for non-living substances). For this reason, Wohler is often called the Father of Organic Chemistry. 

Thus, in little more than three decades after Wohler s accidental synthesis of urea, it was learned that living organisms exhibited a unique capacity to distinguish a molecule from its mirror image. So profoundly indicative of Life is the handedness of carbon-containing molecules that a search for the existence of Life in outer space once centered on finding such optically active molecules in matter-... 

Indeed, the period from Wohler s accidental synthesis of urea in 1828 to the Biotechnological Revolution of today presents a remarkable pilgrimage with the potential for dramatic and constructive consequences for individual health and societal development. 

Synthesis usually consists of piecing together small, relatively simple molecules to make larger, more complex ones. To make a molecule that contains many atoms from molecules that contain fewer atoms, one must know how to link atoms to each other— that is, how to make and break chemical bonds. Wohler s preparation of urea was accidental, but synthesis is much more effective when it is carried out in a controlled and rational way so that when all the atoms are assembled, they will be connected to one another in the correct manner to give the desired product. 

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