Quinazolinone

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A heterocyclic compound featuring a fused ring structure of benzene and pyrimidine, often used in pharmaceuticals
2. A bicyclic organic compound that includes a quinazoline framework, noted for its applications in medicinal chemistry
3. A derivative of quinazoline, characterized by its nitrogen-containing ring system and relevance in drug development

Etymology: The chain of names begins with fever bark. Quinine was isolated from cinchona bark, and the Spanish "quina" came from the Quechua word for bark, "kina". Chemists then named quinoline after quinine, its source. Quinazoline is quinoline with one carbon in the ring replaced by a nitrogen atom, and the "az" marks that substitution. It comes from the "aza-" prefix, which descends from the French "azote", the old name for nitrogen, meaning roughly "without life," because the gas does not support breathing. The final "-one" is a ketone suffix. Ketones were named after "acetone," which comes from Latin "acetum," meaning vinegar. Attaching "-one" to quinazoline indicates a carbonyl group, a carbon double-bonded to oxygen, within the ring. The compound's name therefore records three separate sources: the bark that gave quinine, the nitrogen substitution, and the oxygen-bearing ketone group.

Synonyms: quinazolinone