Urea was the first organic compound synthesized from inorganic materials, in Friedrich Wöhler’s 1828 experiment. He produced urea from ammonium cyanate, challenging the belief that organic substances required a special “vital force.”
Urea has the formula CH₄N₂O and is also called carbamide. Wöhler’s result is considered a landmark in the history of organic chemistry because ammonium cyanate and urea have the same atoms but different molecular arrangements. The transformation demonstrated that a substance associated with living organisms could be made from nonliving starting materials.
The experiment did not immediately end vitalism, but it helped shift chemistry toward molecular explanations. Urea is now known as the principal nitrogen-containing waste product excreted by many mammals and is formed in the liver through the urea cycle.
Industrial urea is produced mainly from ammonia and carbon dioxide. It is widely used as a nitrogen fertilizer and also appears in resins, animal-feed supplements, skincare products, and some industrial processes.