About the lecture

In the first mini-lecture, we introduce the basics of organic chemistry, specifically focusing on hydrocarbons, alcohols, and carboxylic acids (Topic 8.1, 9.11C). Organic compounds, which contain carbon and are found in living organisms, have diverse applications including as fuels and plastics. Hydrocarbons, the main topic of discussion, can be categorised into aliphatic and aromatic classes. Aliphatic hydrocarbons consist of saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes) with single bonds and unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkenes and alkynes) with double or triple bonds. Naming these compounds involves using prefixes and suffixes. The lecture also covers various representations of organic compounds, such as empirical, molecular, general, structural, and displayed formulas. These concepts provide a foundational understanding of organic chemistry.

About the lecturer

Noha graduated from the School of Pharmacy in Egypt and obtained her MSc and PhD in the field of Medicinal Chemistry. She worked in teaching and research across a number of universities in Egypt and the UK. She joined the department of Natural Sciences at Chester as a lecturer in June 2018. Noha’s main focus of research activity is the discovery and development of novel small active molecules as drug candidates to compact disease with primary interest in cancer research. Her research interests include: the selective apoptosis induction in cancer cells; protein-protein interactions as cancer drug target; and the development of kinesin inhibitors as anticancer agents. At the University of Chester she teaches Chemistry Fundamentals II and Analytical Chemistry.