Definition: An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon.
For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of compounds such as carbonates, simple oxides of carbon and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon, are considered inorganic elements (inorganic compounds).
Examples
hydrocarbons and functional groups
- - organic acids
aliphatic compounds
aromatic and alicyclic compounds
polymers
biomolecules
- nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)
- amino acids and proteins
- carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides)
- lipids
small molecule intermediates
- energy production (Krebs cycle)
-
isoprene (most common hydrocarbon in animals)
- cholesterol
- steroid hormone compounds
See also
long-chain biopolymers
- proteins
- DNA
- RNA
- polysaccharides
organic reactions
inorganic elements (inorganic compunds).