• Question: what things have you invented or discovered recently?

    Asked by h4run to Philip on 11 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Philip Denniff

      Philip Denniff answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      I do development at the moment so I take other peoples ideas and make them work. In the past I been the first person to make a chemical. It was a great thrill to know you were holding all there ever had been of this chemical in your hand

Comments

  • Photo: wadaia

    wadaia commented on :

    what exactly was the chemical for?please i would like to know more do carry on……….?

  • Photo: Philip

    Philip commented on :

    At university I was the first to make gingerol, the chemical in ginger that gives it its hot taste. It will always be much cheaper the grow ginger and extract the oil from it, than use my method of making it. My study was to find how the plant made gingerol.

    I made my gigerol from vanillin, the chemical used to make things such as ice cream and perfume smell of vanilla and reacted it with acetone. Then used a platinum catalyst to add hydrogen, followed by protection of one of the reactive groups. Then add hexanal to it, which has a grassy, unripe fruit smell and is used in lots of fruit flavours. Last was remove the protection group. Pop in in glass bottle and cherish it, making sure not to drop it. Did I taste it? No, it would have blown my head off. You thought hot chillies were hot. This stuff is hot. After diluting it a million times you can still taste it.