Chrysene is a
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...
(PAH) with the molecular formula that consists of four fused
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...
rings. It is a natural constituent of
coal tar
Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasi ...
, from which it was first isolated and characterized. It is also found in
creosote
Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.
Some creosote types were ...
at levels of 0.5–6 mg/kg.
[Anja Sörensen and Bodo Wichert "Asphalt and Bitumen" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2009. http://www.qrpoil.com/site/?bitumen ]
The name "chrysene" originates from Greek ''Χρύσoς'' (''chrysos''), meaning "gold", and is due to the golden-yellow color of the crystals of the hydrocarbon, thought to be the proper color of the compound at the time of its isolation and characterization. However, high purity chrysene is colorless, the yellow hue being due to the traces of its yellow-orange isomer
tetracene
Tetracene, also called naphthacene, is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. It has the appearance of a pale orange powder. Tetracene is the four-ringed member of the series of acenes.
Tetracene is a molecular organic semiconductor, used in organic ...
, which cannot be separated easily.
Occurrence
Chrysene is a constituent of
tobacco smoke
Tobacco smoke is a sooty aerosol produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco during the tobacco smoking, smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Temperatures in burning cigarettes range from about 400 °C between puffs to abo ...
.
Safety
As with other PAHs, chrysene is suspected to be a human
carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...
. Some evidence suggests that it causes cancer in laboratory animals, but chrysene is often contaminated with more strongly carcinogenic compounds. Chrysene is estimated to have about 1% of the toxicity of benzo(a)pyrene.
[Ian C.T. Nisbet, Peter K. LaGoy "Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)", ]Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
''Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers legal aspects of toxicological and pharmacological regulations. It is published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Society of Regulatory T ...
1992, Volume 16, Pages 290-300.
Derivatives
Derivatives
The derivative of a function is the rate of change of the function's output relative to its input value.
Derivative may also refer to:
In mathematics and economics
* Brzozowski derivative in the theory of formal languages
* Formal derivative, an ...
of chrysene include
tetrahydrochrysene Tetrahydrochrysene (THC) may refer to:
* (''R'',''R'')-Tetrahydrochrysene ((''R'',''R'')-THC)
* (''S'',''S'')-Tetrahydrochrysene ((''S'',''S'')-THC)
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