Fentanyl
Also called Duragesic, Durogesic, Fentanest and Matrifen.
A synthetic opioid painkiller used in surgery and in patches such as Duragesic. It is far more potent by weight than morphine, which is why it dominates overdose statistics.
Sources and notes
- The introductionfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Other namesfrom sourcePubChem / Wikidata
- Formula and weightcomputedPubChem
- 2D drawingcomputedPubChem structure, drawn by RDKit
- 3D modelfrom sourcePubChem 3D conformerLoaded after the page has painted, and on a phone only when you ask for it; the 2D drawing shows until it arrives.
Where you encounter it
Dispensed on prescription, not sold on a shelf.
Sources and notes
- The line abovefrom sourceMoleculeFinder curatedFrom the group the molecule belongs to.
Explore its structure
Choose a part to light it up.
A C=O bonded to a nitrogen, the same link that joins amino acids in a protein. It is sturdy, and its nitrogen is not a base the way an amine's is.
From: standard chemistry.
A nitrogen bonded to three carbons, with no hydrogen of its own. Its spare pair of electrons can still pick up a hydrogen ion, so a tertiary amine is a base.
From: standard chemistry.
Six carbons in a flat hexagon, sharing their electrons evenly around the ring. It is stable, flat and oily, and it stacks readily against other flat rings.
From: standard chemistry.
Sources and notes
- The drawingcomputedPubChem structure, drawn by RDKitThe page's one shipped drawing, with the chosen part lit in amber under it.
- The partscomputedFound by ruleEach part is found by a chemical pattern, never picked by hand atom by atom; its words say where they come from.
Compare a related molecule
Morphine
Fentanyl
Morphine and fentanyl bind the same opioid receptor, but synthetic fentanyl reaches the brain in minutes and acts at a small fraction of the amount.
Morphine vs Fentanyl, side by sideSources and notes
- The sentencefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedPubChem structures, drawn by RDKitThe two drawings side by side.
Properties and sources
Calculated by PubChem
- Molecular formula
- C22H28N2O
- Molecular weight
- 336.5 g/mol
- XLogP3octanol/water, log units
- 4
- Polar surface areatopological
- 23.6 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 0
- H-bond acceptors
- 2
- Rotatable bonds
- 6
- Complexity
- 391
Measured LD50, HSDB via PubChem
18 mg/kg pure fentanyl, rat, oral
An LD50 is an animal study measurement, not a dose for a person.
Reported Hazard label (GHS), ECHA via PubChem
Danger Toxic pictogram (GHS06), Irritant pictogram (GHS07) and Health hazard pictogram (GHS08); hazard statements H300, H310, H317, H330, H334, H361, H362, H413
Reported Licence
The US Food and Drug Administration licenses Fentanyl for human use (NDA 016619, authorized February 19, 1968), as Sublimaze Preservative Free. Drugs@FDA
Groups it belongs to
- Category
- Prescription medicine
- Family
- Opioids
- Elements
- Nitrogen
- Hazard classes
- Acutely toxic, Irritant, Health hazard, GHS Danger
CCC(=O)N(C1CCN(CC1)CCC2=CC=CC=C2)C3=CC=CC=C3PubChem CID 3345 · Wikidata Q407541 · InChIKey PJMPHNIQZUBGLI-UHFFFAOYSA-N · Data refreshed
Questions
- What is Fentanyl?
- A synthetic opioid painkiller used in surgery and in patches such as Duragesic. It is far more potent by weight than morphine, which is why it dominates overdose statistics.
- How toxic is Fentanyl?
- The reported LD50 of Fentanyl is 18 mg/kg (rat, oral). An LD50 is an animal study measurement, not a dose for a person. Its GHS hazard label carries the signal word Danger and the hazard pictograms Toxic, Irritant and Health hazard. from sourcefrom source
- What kind of molecule is Fentanyl?
- Fentanyl has the formula C22H28N2O and a molecular weight of 336.5 g/mol. MoleculeFinder files it under opioids, in the prescription medicine group. from sourcefrom sourcefrom sourcefrom source
- Who licenses Fentanyl as a medicine?
- The US Food and Drug Administration licenses Fentanyl for human use (NDA 016619, authorized February 19, 1968), as Sublimaze Preservative Free. from source
Sources and notes
- Calculated valuescomputedPubChemComputed from the structure, so no laboratory conditions apply; complexity is PubChem's own structural score.
- LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChemOther values the sources report: rat, another route, 1.5 mg/kg; rat, intravenous, 2.91 mg/kg; mouse, intravenous, 11.2 mg/kg; mouse, another route, 62 mg/kg. The page shows the one LD50 the site uses everywhere.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA via PubChemThe label combines these classifications.
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- Licencefrom sourceDrugs@FDARead 2026-10-21.
- Data refreshedfrom sourceMoleculeFinder2026-11-09
Keep exploring
Sources and notes
- Compared side by sidefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesA molecule we compare it with on its own page.
- Similar in shapecomputedRDKit Morgan/TanimotoNeighbours by structural fingerprint; the sentence names the chemical groups the two share.
- The drawingscomputedPubChem structures, drawn by RDKit