Halides

Halides, or organohalides, are compounds that contain a halogen atom (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine) bonded to a carbon atom by a polar bond. The slightly positive charge that exists on the carbon atom in carbon-halogen bonds is the source of reactivity of halides. A wide variety of organohalides have been discovered in marine organisms, and several simple halide compounds have important commercial applications. Chloroethane (ethyl chloride) is a volatile liquid that is used as a topical anesthetic. Chloroethene (vinyl chloride) is the monomeric building block for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the mixed organohalide halothane is an inhalation anesthetic. The compound epibatidine, isolated from glands on the back of an Ecuadorian poison frog, has been found to be an especially potent painkiller.