Wiktionary
n. (context chemistry English) A functional group with the structural formula R-O-CH2-O-R', connected to the rest of a molecule by two chemical bonds.
Wikipedia
Methylenedioxy is the term used in the field of chemistry, particularly in organic chemistry, for a functional group with the structural formula R-O-CH-O-R' which is connected to the rest of a molecule by two chemical bonds. The methylenedioxy group consists of two oxygen atoms connected to a methylene bridge (-CH- unit). The methylenedioxy group is generally found attached to an aromatic structure such as phenyl where it forms the methylenedioxyphenyl or benzodioxole functional group which is widely found in natural products, including safrole, and drugs and chemicals such as tadalafil, MDMA, and piperonyl butoxide.
Enzymes within the cytochrome P450 superfamily are able to form methylenedioxy bridges by closure of an open, adjacent phenol and methoxy group. Examples of products formed by this process are canadine and berberine. Similarly, ortho-demethylenation can be carried out by other members of the superfamily to open a bridge; a process which is applied to, as examples, both MDMA and MDA during their metabolism.
Category:Alkoxy groups Category:Acetals
Usage examples of "methylenedioxy".
East Coast, whose place of honor in the sinister Beverly Middle School drug-set was due entirely to his gift for transforming the kitchen of any vacationing parents' house into a rudimentary pharmaceutical laboratory, using like BBQ-sauce bottles as Erlenmeyer Flasks and microwave ovens to cyclize OH and carbon into three-ring compounds, synthesizing methylenedioxy psychedelics364 from nutmeg and sassafras oil, ether from charcoal-starter, designer meth from Tryptophan and L-Histidine, sometimes using only a gas-top range and parental Farberware, able even to decoct usable concentrations of tetra-hydrofruan from PVC Pipe Cleaner which at that time best of British luck ordering tetrahydrofruan from any chemical company in the 48 con tigs/6 provinces without getting paid an immediate visit by D.