What molecule am I?
Sertraline, best known by the brand name Zoloft (Pfizer, New York City), is a venerable antidepressant that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1991. Its mode of action, common among antidepressants, is as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The active ingredient in most of its formulations is its hydrochloride1.
Sertraline continues to be a frequently prescribed antidepressant (鈮�40 million prescriptions in 2019). But its success has come with an environmental cost: This year, a review by South African scientists Lawrence Mzukisi Madikizela* and Somandla Ncubeb cited dozens of drugs, including sertraline, that have been . This finding is a major concern for ocean life because of the aquatic toxicity statements shown in the hazard information table.
1. CAS Reg. No. 79559-97-0.
Sertraline hazard information*
| Hazard class** | GHS code and hazard statement | |
|---|---|---|
| Acute toxicity, oral, category 4 | H302鈥擬ay be harmful if swallowed |  |
| Short-term (acute) aquatic hazard, category 1 | H400鈥擵ery toxic to aquatic life |  |
| Long-term (chronic) aquatic hazard, category 1 | H410鈥擵ery toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects | |
*Information from safety data sheets for sertraline and sertraline hydrochloride.
**Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.听
Molecules from the journals
Zinc selenide1 (ZnSe), a salt known since 1921, is seldom found in nature; but it can be made by combining zinc and selenium salts or by heating the elements in a vacuum. It has long been used as a phosphor and semiconductor. This past May, K. David Wegner at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Berlin) and co-workers reported that are conveniently made by heating zinc stearate, selenourea, and the ligand 1-dodecanethiol in oleylamine solvent. They controlled the cluster sizes by varying the ligand concentration and the reaction temperature.
Guanitoxin3 is a cyanotoxin isolated from cyanobacteria of the genus Anabaena; it causes mammals to salivate excessively by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Despite its toxicity, guanitoxin is not environmentally monitored because it is incompatible with conventional analytical methods. In May, Shaun M. K. McKinnie, Marli F. Fiore, Bradley S. Moore, and colleagues in several institutions in the United States, Brazil, and Denmark described how by using a gene-sequencing technique.
1. CAS Reg. No. 1315-09-9.
2.
3. CAS Reg. No. 103170-78-1.
Molecules from the Journals
MOTW briefly describes noteworthy molecules that appeared in recent ACS journal articles. See this week's edition.
This molecule was suggested by a reader. We present听almost all of the molecules suggested by our readers.听If you have a molecule you would like us to consider, please send us a message. And thank you for your interest in Molecule of the Week! 鈥擡d.
听
Sertraline fast facts
| CAS Reg. No. | 79617-96-2 |
nomenclature | 1-Naphthalenamine, 4-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-N-methyl-, (1S,4S)- |
| Empirical formula | C17H17Cl2N |
| Molar mass | 306.23 g/mol |
| Appearance | White crystals or powder |
| Boiling point | 244鈥�246 掳C |
| Water solubility | 3.8 g/L |
MOTW update
Perovskite was the Molecule of the Week for March 1, 2021. The mineral perovskite is calcium titanate (CaTiO3), but many inorganic compounds with the structure ABX3 are also called perovskites. These substances have several uses, including photovoltaics in solar cells. This month, Lijun Zhang at Jilin University (Changchun, China), Hairen Tan at Nanking University (China), and their colleagues announced a in flexible thin-film photovoltaics: 24.4%, compared with the previous record of 19.9%.
, the most authoritative and comprehensive source for chemical information.
Molecule of the Week needs your suggestions!
If your favorite molecule is not in our听archive, please send us a message. The molecule can be notable for its current or historical importance or for any quirky reason. Thank you!
Stay Ahead of the Chemistry Curve
Learn how ACS can help you stay ahead in the world of chemistry.
