Dont understand!

[markdahman]

K im no rocket scientist in pills altho i do alot of em. Heres one thing ill never understand! Ive done alot of perscriptions inthe past! Ive gotten 40 vials of oxycontin, oxycodone", "Hydrocodone". Now this whole time i thought they wher all about the same. I allways thought they had the same active chemical but in different amounts. Now in a post i read this



"2. Hydrocodone (Vicodin)



3. Oxycodone (Percocet)" And then says that they arent even the same drug!!! Now can someone explain this to me?

[Kemikaru_Tenshu]

As you have learned, they are not the same drug. The base molecule is codeine, which has the structure:


<img border="0" src= "http://opioids.com/codeine/codeine.jpg">


Notice the alcohol (-OH) at the bottom left, the double bond at the bottom center (=), and the hydrogen (-H) at the bottom right corner.


The first modification is oxidation of the alcohol to form a ketone (=O), along with the reduction of the double bond at the bottom center, which yields hydrocodone. Hydrocodone has this structure:


<img border="0" src= "http://opioids.com/hydrocodone/hydrocodone.jpg">


Notice the ketone at the bottom left corner, the absence of the double bond at the bottom center, and the fact that the hydrogen (-H) remains at the bottom right corner of the molecule.


The next modification involves the removal of the hydrogen we noted above and its replacement with oxygen forming Oxycodone. Oxycodone has the structure:


<img border="0" src= "http://opioids.com/oxycodone/oxycodone.jpg">


Each of these modifications enhances the effectiveness of the resulting drug for our purposes.


Here's another structure for you to compare:


<img border="0" src= "http://opioids.com/heroin/heroin.jpg">


Notice that the only difference between this and codeine is the presence of the two acetate groups at the top left and the bottom left. That is the structure of "heroin" or chemically diacetylmorphine.


So, slight modifications of the opioid "core" structure result in compounds of varying potency and a slightly different feel. This is true with all pharmacologically active compounds.





~KT