- Amyl
The word or root amyl has two meanings, in
organic chemistry andbiochemistry .Biochemistry
In biochemistry, "amyl" means "pertaining to starch". Many moderately complex biological chemicals related to starch contain it, for example:-
*
Amylase
*Amylopectin
*Amylose Note that in this usage, it is a part of the word, and becomes "amylo" when preceding a
consonant .Chemistry
In organic chemistry, amyl is the old
trivial name for thealkyl functional group and radical calledpentyl under theIUPAC nomenclature : that is, -C5H11. This usage may derive from the presence of amyl alcohol infusel oil , which is often fermented from starches. In this usage, amyl (normally) remains a separate word and it does not become "amylo-" before a consonant.Several important amyl/pentyl compounds are still widely known by their older, amyl names, including:
*
Amylamine
*Amyl acetate
*Amyl alcohol
*Amyl nitrate
*Amyl nitrite There are eight possible
isomer s of amyl; see underpentyl for more information. Frequently chemicals sold commercially as amyl compounds will be a mixture of several isomers.Slang
"Amyl" is also a
slang term foramyl nitrite when used as a recreational drug."E-Amyl" is the name of the equivalent drug often sniffed by players of the game
Second Life Etymology
"Amyl", used to mean "starch", was taken from Greek αμυλος = "cake made from fine
flour ", from α + μυλη = "not mill" because the flour used to make an αμυλος was not ground on the samegrindstone s as ordinary bread flour.See also
*
Methyl
*Ethyl
*Propyl
*Butyl
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