Why was urea synthesis a critical discovery for biochemists?
1 Answer
Aug 9, 2015
Wöhler's synthesis of urea showed that a substance previously available only from biological sources could be synthesized in the laboratory without involving living organisms.
Explanation:
In 1828, the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler attempted to prepare ammonium cyanate,
Instead, the expected ammonium cyanate rearranged to urea.
For the first time an organic compound, urea, was produced from an inorganic reactant, ammonium cyanate.
Before this, chemists could obtain urea only from biological sources such as urine.