Chemistry
Oxycodone's chemical name is derived from codeine. The chemical structures are very similar, differing only in that
- Oxycodone has a hydroxyl group at carbon-14 (codeine has just a hydrogen in its place), hence oxycodone;
- Oxycodone has a 7,8-dihydro feature, whereas codeine has a double bond between those two carbons; and
- Oxycodone has a carbonyl group (as in ketones) in place of the hydroxyl group of codeine, hence the "-one" suffix.
It is also similar to hydrocodone, differing only in that it has a hydroxyl group at carbon-14.
Expanded expression for the compound oxycodone in the academic literature include "dihydrohydroxycodeinone", "Eucodal", "Eukodal", "14-hydroxydihydrocodeinone", and "Nucodan". In a UNESCO convention, the translations of "oxycodone" are oxycodon (Dutch), oxycodone (French), oxicodona (Spanish), الأوكسيكودون (Arabic), 羟考酮 (Chinese), and оксикодон (Russian). The word "oxycodone" should not be confused with "oxandrolone", "oxazepam", "oxybutynin", "oxytocin", or "Roxanol".
Read more about this topic: Oxycodone
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