Parapropamol

Parapropamol is a non-narcotic analgesic and impurity found in samples of the related and widely used analgesic paracetamol.

Appearance

Parapropamol is a pale purple solid at room temperature.

Structure

Parapropamol is a structural analogue of paracetamol, containing an extra carbon in its chain. In the solid state, the compound assembles into multiple entangled 3-dimensional, hydrogen-bonded networks, like intertwined nets, called a 3D-interpenetrated supramolecular network. These networks have been reported for inorganic compounds such as SrAl₂ and CeCu₂, but parapropamol may be the first reported instance of an organic compound to exhibit this structure.