Piperazine

Piperazine (/paɪˈpɛrəziːn/) is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms at opposite positions in the ring. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste. Piperazine (/paɪˈpɛrəziːn/) is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms at opposite positions in the ring. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste. The piperazines are a broad class of chemical compounds, many with important pharmacological properties, which contain a core piperazine functional group. Piperazines were originally named because of their chemical similarity with piperidine, part of the structure of piperine in the black pepper plant (Piper nigrum). It is important to note, however, that piperazines are not derived from plants in the Piper genus. Piperazine is freely soluble in water and ethylene glycol, but insoluble in diethyl ether. It is a weak base with two pKbs of 5.35 and 9.73 at 25 °C.; the pH of a 10% aqueous solution of piperazine is 10.8–11.8. Piperazine readily absorbs water and carbon dioxide from the air. Although many piperazine derivatives occur naturally, piperazine itself can be synthesized by reacting alcoholic ammonia with 1,2-dichloroethane, by the action of sodium and ethylene glycol on ethylene diamine hydrochloride, or by reduction of pyrazine with sodium in ethanol. A form in which piperazine is commonly available industrially is as the hexahydrate, C4H10N2. 6H2O, which melts at 44 °C and boils at 125–130 °C. Two common salts in the form of which piperazine is usually prepared for pharmaceutical or veterinary purposes are the citrate, 3C4H10N2.2C6H8O7 (i.e. containing 3 molecules of piperazine to 2 molecules of citric acid), and the adipate, C4H10N2.C6H10O4 (containing 1 molecule each of piperazine and adipic acid). Piperazine is formed as a co-product in the ammoniation of 1,2-dichloroethane or ethanolamine. These are the only routes to the chemical used commercially. The piperazine is separated from the product stream, which contains ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, and other related linear and cyclic chemicals of this type. Piperazine was first introduced as an anthelmintic in 1953. A large number of piperazine compounds have anthelmintic action. Their mode of action is generally by paralysing parasites, which allows the host body to easily remove or expel the invading organism. The neuromuscular effects are thought to be caused by blocking acetylcholine at the myoneural junction. This action is mediated by its agonist effects upon the inhibitory GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) receptor. Its selectivity for helminths is because vertebrates only use GABA in the CNS and the GABA receptor of helminths is of a different isoform from that of vertebrates. Piperazine hydrate, piperazine adipate and piperazine citrate (used to treat ascariasis and enterobiasis) are the most common anthelmintic piperazine compounds. These drugs are often referred to simply as 'piperazine' which may cause confusion between the specific anthelmintic drugs, the entire class of piperazine-containing compounds, and the compound itself.