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The antibiotic, erythromycin, has the following structure - Scottish Highers Chemistry - Question 14 - 2015
Question 14
The antibiotic, erythromycin, has the following structure. To remove its bitter taste, the erythromycin is reacted to give the compound with the structure shown bel... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The antibiotic, erythromycin, has the following structure - Scottish Highers Chemistry - Question 14 - 2015
Step 1
Which of the following types of compound has been reacted with erythromycin to produce this compound?
Answer
To determine which type of compound has reacted with erythromycin, we first need to analyze the structural change observed in the compound that results from the reaction.
Erythromycin contains hydroxyl (-OH) groups which can react to form esters with carboxylic acids. In the structure shown in the question, we observe an ester bond formed by the linkage of the erythromycin to another moiety that appears to have resulted from the deactivation of its bitter taste.
Since the formation of an ester is indicative of a reaction with a carboxylic acid, we conclude that the correct answer is:
C. Carboxylic acid