Physiological Properties and Uses of Alcohols and Ethers

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Methanol:

Formed by catalytic reduction of CO and H2 at high temperatures and pressure.

Used as a solvent, a fuel for camp stoves and soldering torches, and as a synthetic intermediate.

Highly poisonous. May lead to blindness or death.

A possible precursor of gasoline.

Ethanol:

Alcohol in alcoholic beverages

General depressant

High in calories, little nutritional value

Metabolically degraded linearly with time

Poisonous (lethal concentration ~ 0.4%)

Near toxic dose used to treat methanol poisoning

Produced by fermentation of sugars and starch

Commercially produced by the hydration of ethylene.

Used as a solvent, a synthetic intermediate, and as a gasoline additive (gasahol)

2-Propanol:

Toxic, but not absorbed through the skin

Used as a rubbing alcohol, a solvent, and as a cleaning agent

1,2-Ethanediol (ethylene glycol):

Used as an antifreeze (completely miscible with water)

Produced from ethene:

1,2,3-Propanetriol (glycerol, glycerine):

Non-toxic

Major component of fatty tissue

Liberated by the action of alkali on fats to form soaps:

Phosphoric esters of glycerols are major cell membrane components.

Used in lotions, cosmetics, and medicinal preparations.

Forms nitroglycerine upon treatment with nitric acid.

Cholesterol:

An important steroid alcohol

Ethoxyethane (diethyl ether):

Formally used as an anesthetic

Explosive when mixed with air

Oxacyclopropane (oxirane, ethylene oxide)

Industrial chemical intermediate

Fumigating agent for seeds and grains

Oxacyclopropane derivatives control insect metamorphosis and are formed during enzyme-catalyzed oxidations of aromatic hydrocarbons (highly carcinogenic).

Alcohol and ether groups are found in natural products such as morphine and tetrahydrocannabinol:

Lower MW thiols and sulfides are notorious for their foul smells.

The odor of the skunk’s defensive spray are thiols and a sulfide:

When highly diluted, thiols and sulfides have a pleasant odor:

freshly chopped onion or garlic, black tea, grapefruit.

The compound responsible for the taste of grapefruit can be tasted in concentrations in the ppb range:

Drugs such as the sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) contain sulfur in their molecular framework: