Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.234) on September 11, 2000 at 09:59:56:
In Reply to: I remember posted by Ted on September 11, 2000 at 03:36:24:
It's not just the Indole Ring that is similar, Ted. If you take a closer look you will see that on the left side of the two molecules the ONLY difference is that the hydroxy group (the OH or HO pair) is connected to the TOPMOST carbon atom in psilocin, while in serotonin it is connected to the carbon atom that is one step counterclockwise from topmost.
Now look at the "tail" that is attached to the right side of each molecule. The only difference is that while there are two hydrogen atoms attached to the nitrogen atom of serotonin, there are two methyl groups (CH3) attached to that nitrogen atom in psilocin. Whoever drew the two-dimensional diagrams used a common organic chemistry "shorthand" -- the methyl groups are represented simply by a line. These methyl groups are shown in their entirety in the three-dimensional models.
To an organic chemist, these two molecules are about as similar as it is possible to get without actually being identical.
pinky