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Medications and Organic Compounds

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I am to identify organic compounds in medications. I chose to look at Orajel first.
I am to determine the structure of one active component and identify three functional groups on each molecule. Based on the functional groups present in the drug molecules, predict the physical properties of the molecule the drug would interact with. This gets the "molecularity" of the drug interaction.

Orajel
Benzocaine - Ester
Chemical properties - can be prepared from the organic acid PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) and ethanol. Melting point is 88-90 degrees Celsius, and the boiling point is 172 degrees Celsius.
Is this correct? If so, I am confused on how to proceed to get the rest of the information I need. Would you explain, please? Are the properties referring to the chemical or are there others?

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Solution Summary

Almost 500 words walks the reader through predicting physical properties of molecules of Orajel.

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If you look at the structure of benzocaine at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzocaine, you will see that it has three functional groups. First of all, it has an NH2 group. This is called an amino group. Second, it has the R-COO-R group which is the ester functional group. Thirdly, if you want, you can refer to the benzene ring as a type of functional group.

The question isn't talking about benzocaine's chemical properties like how to prepare it or what its melting or boiling temperatures are. Rather, it's focusing its question on the issue of functional groups. They want you to predict the physical properties of the molecule that benzocaine will interact with, not the physical properties of benzocaine itself.

So, let's start ...

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