Organic Nomenclature

A member of a large class of chemical compounds containing carbon in their molecules is organic chemical.Compounds such as simple oxides of carbon and cyanides, carbonates, including allotropes of carbon as well are considered inorganic due to some historical reasons.

The science that is concerned with all aspects of organic compounds is termed as organic chemistry and the methodology to prepare these compounds is organic synthesis.

"Organic" is an historical  name, which dates back to the first century. Vitalism was believed by western alchemists for many centuries. Vitalism was the theory which stated that  certain compounds could only be synthesized from their classical elements Earth, Water, Air and Fire by the action of a "life-force" which is possessed only by organisms. According to this theory these "organic" compounds differ fundamentally from the "inorganic" compounds that could be obtained by chemical manipulation of the elements.

There are different ways to classify organic chemicals. Natural and synthetic compounds are major distinction between them. The presence of heteroatoms can classify or subdivide organic chemicals,taking example of organometallic compound in which bonds between carbon and a metal is featured, and compounds in which bonds between carbon and a phosphorus is featured is organophosphorus.

The size of organic compounds distinguish between small molecules and polymers, this is another criteria to classify organic chemicals.

Synthesis of organic compounds from Natural compounds

Those chemicals which are produced by plants or animals are natural compounds. It may be expensive to produced some compounds artificially so they are still taken from natural sources. For examples most sugars, some alkaloids and terpenoids are included in this category, certain nutrients as vitamin B12, and those natural products which are stereoisometrically complicated molecules present in reasonable concentrations in living organisms.

Compounds such as antigens, carbohydrates, enzymes, hormones, lipids and fatty acids, neurotransmitters, nucleic acids, proteins, peptides and amino acids, lectins, vitamins and fats and oils, are of prime importance to biochemistry.

Organic chemicals: Synthetic Compounds

Synthetic compounds are those which are prepared by reaction of other compounds. They may be the compounds already found in plants or animals (semi synthetic compounds), or those which are not found naturally.

A category which includes all plastics (polymers) are organic compounds. An exception that is noticable is silicone, which comes in both category of polymer and a plastic.