Pain Killaz
Sydney Neely, Sydney Foil, Olivia Kozar, Courtney Seidel,
Savannah DeKemper

Two Types of analgesics:
◦ Mild analgesics
 (example: aspirin)
 intercept the feeling of pain at the source, often
altering the production of certain substances in the
body that are the cause of the problem
◦ Strong analgesics
 (example: opium, or morphine)
 work by (on a temporary basis)-bonding receptor sites
to the brain, so the transmission of pain cannot reach
the brain. So there is no feeling of pain. Since the
signal of pain does not reach the brain, strong
analgesics do not depress the central nervous system
Pain Prevention

Salicylic acid reacts to form aspirin in a
condensation reaction:
C₇H₆O₃ + C₄H₆O₃ → C₉H₈O₄ + C₂H₄O₂
Salicylic Acid + Acetic Anyhydride →
Acetylsalicylic acid + Acetic Acid
Aspirin As A Derivative of Salicylic
Acid

Morphine

Codeine
Structures of Analgesics

Diamorphine/Heroin
Structures of Analgesics
(continued)
•
Heroin (diamorphine)
Interacts with receptor sites within brain and
block pain signals within the brain
two ester groups
•
•
•
•
tertiary amine group
benzene ring (C6H6)
alkene group (C=C)
ether group (C-O-C).
Differences

Codeine:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
hydroxy groups
a tertiary amine
an alkene group
a benzene ring
and an ether group.
Differences
Morphine
Heroin
Codeine
Short Term
Effective at
treating severe
pain,
constipation
Feeling of well
being, dulling of
pain, lessens
fear and tension
Long Term
Habit forming,
possible
dependence
Loss of appetite,
constipation,
high potential
for addiction,
building of
tolerance
May not
completely dull
the pain, fewer
side effects than
Morphine and
Heroin, not
addictive
Effects When Using Morphine and
It’s Derivatives as Analgesics

Although diamorphine (heroin) and morphine
share the same basic structure, heroin is more
potent and thus more addictive because of its
polarity due to the presence of its functional
groups.
Heroin
Morphine
Drug Action

Comparison of structures:

Solubility/Potency:
◦ Identical except the functional groups on the left.
◦ Heroin has two ester groups which are less polar.
◦ Morphine has 2 polar hydroxyl groups
◦ Heroin is insoluble in water because it is less polar (ester groups
that can't form hydrogen bonds with water)
◦ Heroin can then be transported to the less polar parts of the body
like the brain and nervous systems
◦ Heroin will reach higher concentrations in the brain (due to is less
polar nature) and thus will appear more potent and produce
greater analgesic effects (more addictive)
◦ Morphine is soluble in water because the polar hydoxyl groups
can form hydrogen bonds with water and can penetrate the brain
less easily than heroin.
Drug Action (continued)