Prodrug not its intended target. This reduces adverse or unintended effects of a drug, especially important in treatments like chemotherapy, which can have severe unintended and undesirable side effects. Many herbal extracts historically used in medicine contain glycosides (sugar derivatives) of the active agent, which are hydrolyzed in the intestines to release the active and more bioavailable aglycone. For example, salicin is a β-D-glucopyranoside that is cleaved by esterases to release salicylic acid. Aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, first made by Felix Hoffmann at Bayer in 1897, is a synthetic prodrug of salicylic acid. However, in other cases, such as codeine and morphine,
Mineral acid Mineral acid A mineral acid (or inorganic acid) is an acid derived from one or more inorganic compounds. All mineral acids form hydrogen ions and the conjugate base when dissolved in water. Commonly used mineral acids are sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (they are also known as bench acids). Mineral acids range from superacids (perchloric acid) to very weak (boric acid). Mineral acids tend to be very soluble in water and insoluble in organic solvents. Mineral acids are used in many sectors of the chemical industry as feedstocks for the synthesis of other chemicals, both organic and inorganic.