amyl

The word or root amyl has two meanings, in organic chemistry and biochemistry.

Biochemistry

In biochemistry, "amyl" means "pertaining to starch", "amylum" being another word for starch. Many terms for moderately complex biological chemicals related to starch contain "amyl", for example:

• Amylase
• Amylopectin
• Amylose
• Amyloplast
• Amyloid (based on an early mistaken opinion that these structures contained starch)

Note that in this usage, it is a part of the word, and becomes "amylo" when preceding a consonant.

Organic Chemistry

In organic chemistry, amyl is the old trivial name for the alkyl functional group and radical called pentyl under the IUPAC nomenclature: that is, -C₅H₁₁. This usage may derive from the presence of amyl alcohol in fusel 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 isomers of amyl; see under pentyl for more information. Frequently chemicals sold commercially as amyl compounds will be a mixture of several isomers.

Slang

"Amyl" is also a slang term for amyl 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", in Latin Amylum, was taken from Greek αμυλος = "cake made from fine flour", from α + μυλη lk= "not mill", the flour not grounded on grindstones as bread flour, but dried milk slurry strained from a pulp of softened grain (wheat) with water.

See also

• Methyl
• Ethyl
• Propyl
• Butyl