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Monday, July 02, 2012

Monday's Molecule #176

Today's molecule has a common name and a much less common systematic (IUPAC) name. You need to supply both names in order to win. You also need to tell us what this molecule does.

Post your answer as a comment. I'll hold off releasing any comments for 24 hours. The first one with the correct answer wins. I will only post mostly correct answers to avoid embarrassment. The winner will be treated to a free lunch with a very famous person, or me.

There could be two winners. If the first correct answer isn't from an undergraduate student then I'll select a second winner from those undergraduates who post the correct answer. You will need to identify yourself as an undergraduate in order to win. (Put "undergraduate" at the bottom of your comment.)

Some past winners are from distant lands so their chances of taking up my offer of a free lunch are slim. (That's why I can afford to do this!)

In order to win you must post your correct name. Anonymous and pseudoanonymous commenters can't win the free lunch.

Winners will have to contact me by email to arrange a lunch date.

Comments are invisible for 24 hours. Comments are now open.

UPDATE: The molecule is dextromethorphan [(+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan]. It's a cough suppressant (DM). The first person with the correct answer is DR but unless he/she posts his/her name and status (undergraduate?) in the next 24 hours the prize will got to Raul A. Félix de Sousa.

Winners
Nov. 2009: Jason Oakley, Alex Ling
Oct. 17: Bill Chaney, Roger Fan
Oct. 24: DK
Oct. 31: Joseph C. Somody
Nov. 7: Jason Oakley
Nov. 15: Thomas Ferraro, Vipulan Vigneswaran
Nov. 21: Vipulan Vigneswaran (honorary mention to Raul A. Félix de Sousa)
Nov. 28: Philip Rodger
Dec. 5: 凌嘉誠 (Alex Ling)
Dec. 12: Bill Chaney
Dec. 19: Joseph C. Somody
Jan. 9: Dima Klenchin
Jan. 23: David Schuller
Jan. 30: Peter Monaghan
Feb. 7: Thomas Ferraro, Charles Motraghi
Feb. 13: Joseph C. Somody
March 5: Albi Celaj
March 12: Bill Chaney, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
March 19: no winner
March 26: John Runnels, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 2: Sean Ridout
April 9: no winner
April 16: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 23: Dima Klenchin, Deena Allan
April 30: Sean Ridout
May 7: Matt McFarlane
May 14: no winner
May 21: no winner
May 29: Mike Hamilton, Dmitri Tchigvintsev
June 4: Bill Chaney, Matt McFarlane
June 18: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
June 25: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
July 1: Raul A. Félix de Sousa


8 comments :

DR said...

CN: Dextromethorphan
IN: (+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-9α,13α,14α-morphinan

It is used pharmacologically as a cough suppressant. Once arriving in the brain the molecule elevates the threshold for coughing.

Raul A. Félix de Sousa said...

Molecule # 176 is dextromethorphan, or (+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan. It is used as a cough supressant.

chemicalscum said...

Dextromethorphan
(14α)-3-Methoxy-17-methylmorphinan
Methyl analog of DEXTRORPHAN that shows high affinity binding to several regions of the brain, including the medullary cough center. This compound is an NMDA receptor antagonist (RECEPTORS, N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE) and acts as a non-competitive channel blocker. It is one of the widely used ANTITUSSIVES, and is also used to study the involvement of glutamate receptors in neurotoxicity

Anonymous said...

Dextromethorphan
(+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan.
Nonselective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a sigma-1 receptor agonist, used as a cough suppressant.

Sia said...

I’m writing from the rainy ol’London so no chance of winning the lunch I’m afraid but I’ll give this a go just for the fun of it.

The molecule is C18H25NO, which is Dextromethorphan [D-(+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan], the ingredient of the Benylin cough syrup I’m currently swigging. I hate summer colds.

Natasha Fedotova
London
UK

Michael McGovern said...

The compound is dextromethorphan ((+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan). It is, at least in the US, a common over-the-counter opioid cough suppressant. It has a promiscuous pharmacology, but it inhibits the serotonin and norepinephrine transporters most strongly.

Nostranoodle said...

This is dextromethorphan, or (+)-3-methoxy-17-methyl-(9α,13α,14α)-morphinan. Sold as a cough suppressant, but the compound and its metabolites hit a number of different biological targets, and apparently will get you high.

DR said...

Yay, I won! :D

My name is Daniel Reckhard. My chances of taking up the free lunch offer in Canada are indeed slim.

But I learned quite a bit about molecule searching tools and molecule encoding, it was fun.

P.S. I later discovered that a backwards image search of the bitmap also finds the compound.