The Role of Chemistry in History

Introduction to Testosterone Discovery and Synthesis Historical Significance

References  The Future of Testosterone

Chemical Structure

-Carbon atoms have four bonds to other C-atoms, to H-atoms, or to O-atoms

-Of the 19 C-atoms in testosterone, all but 2 lie in the “skeleton” of the molecule.

-Three hexagonal (6) C rings and one pentagonal (5) C ring are fused together at the carbons to a form a framework called an androstane skeleton.

-Most of the C-C bonds are single bonds however testosterone has one Carbon=Carbon double bond and there is one Carbon=Oxygen double bond found in the left corner of the above figure.

-dotted versus solid depth indicators represent the “trans” feature in which the points of fusion between rings alternate between an atom sticking up and an atom sticking down

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–> -the fourth bond at these points is not necessary to maintain the framework of the skeleton and in testosterone it is occupied by Hydrogen-atoms or by methyl groups (CH₃-group). The Trans ring fusions make the steroid skeleton more rigid and allows only minor movements at the ends of the arrangement.

The effects of testosterone in mammals occur by way of two main mechanisms:

1) By activation of the androgen receptor

2) By conversion to estradiol and by activation of certain estrogen receptors.

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Chemistry of Testosterone Discovery and Synthesis Historical Significance Anabolic Steroid

Future

References 

-a steroid hormone from the androgen family

-found primarily in the testes of males and the ovaries of females

-Males produce 20-40 times more testosterone than females —>this discrepancy causes many of the biological differences between the sexes

-Beliefs that the male sex organ holds the key to strength, vitality and masculinity have prehistoric context:

-distinct physical and behavioral changes occurred after castrating male mammals

-the male hormone was finally synthesized in a laboratory in 1935, the responsible parties named their discovery Testosterone.

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Introduction to Testosterone

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