Dopamine vs Norepinephrine: what is the difference?
Norepinephrine is made from dopamine by adding one hydroxyl group; dopamine dominates reward and movement, norepinephrine arousal and attention.
One hydroxyl group apart.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Drawn the same way round on the skeleton they share; the amber marks where the two differ.
- The captionfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- What is highlightedfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curatedOne line under each drawing, written from the atoms the amber marks.
- Structural similaritycomputedRDKit Morgan/Tanimoto0.42 of 1, a Morgan fingerprint Tanimoto coefficient. It measures shape, not effect.
Side by side
| Dopamine | Norepinephrine | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 153.18 g/molC8H11NO2 | 169.18 g/molC8H11NO3 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 3 | 4 |
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Neurotransmitters | Neurotransmitters |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Body | Body |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Amines, Aromatics, Phenols | Alcohols, Amines, Aromatics, Phenols |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA via PubChem | Warning | Danger |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
| LD50Measured HSDB via PubChem | 59 mg/kgpure dopamine, mouse, intravenous | 20 mg/kgpure norepinephrine, mouse, oral |
| A single acute animal measure, here by two different routes. It ranks nothing about human safety. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA via PubChem
- LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 681 (Dopamine) and 439260 (Norepinephrine).
In more detail
This pair is a molecule and its immediate product, C8H11NO2 against C8H11NO3, and a single enzyme makes the change. The body runs the chain tyrosine to L-dopa to dopamine to norepinephrine to adrenaline, and each step is one small modification. Functionally they diverge: dopamine dominates in reward, motivation and movement circuits, and norepinephrine drives arousal, attention and the fight-or-flight response, and acts as a hormone as well as a neurotransmitter. Several medicines act on both at once, which is why stimulant drug descriptions usually name the pair together. The reported oral LD50 for norepinephrine is 20 mg/kg in mice, which makes it one of the more acutely toxic entries in this catalog.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Dopamine and Norepinephrine?
- Norepinephrine is made from dopamine by adding one hydroxyl group; dopamine dominates reward and movement, norepinephrine arousal and attention.
- Is Dopamine bigger than Norepinephrine?
- Norepinephrine is the heavier molecule, 169.18 g/mol against 153.18 g/mol for Dopamine. Dopamine is C8H11NO2 and Norepinephrine is C8H11NO3.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.