Application:
• Urea as an example of a compound that is produced by living organisms but can also be artificially synthesised
Vitalism was a doctrine that dictated that organic molecules could only be synthesised by living systems
- It was believed that living things possessed a certain “vital force” needed to make organic molecules
- Hence organic compounds were thought to possess a non-physical element lacking from inorganic molecules
Vitalism as a theory has since been disproven with the discovery that organic molecules can be artificially synthesised
- In 1828, Frederick Woehler heated an inorganic salt (ammonium cyanate) and produced urea
- Urea is a waste product of nitrogen metabolism and is eliminated by the kidneys in mammals
- The artificial synthesis of urea demonstrates that organic molecules are not fundamentally different to inorganic molecules
Synthesis of Urea – Artificial versus Biological
