Dionin

ДИОНИН, Dioninum, Aethylmorphinum hydroehloricum (Ph. VII), the hydrochloride salt of ethylmorphine, is prepared from morphine by the substitution of one hydroxyl group with an ethyl radical; the formula of Dionin is C„H„NO (OH) (O.C,H.)-HC1 + 2H,0. It is a white, crystalline powder with a slightly bitter taste, readily soluble in water (1:12) and alcohol (1:25). It slightly slows and deepens respiration, so that pulmonary ventilation is not generally disturbed; it increases the reflex excitability of the respiratory center. The analgesic and narcotic action of Dionin is significant; therefore, Dionin can replace not only codeine but also morphine. Such a substitution is practiced frequently, and also because Dionin is relatively non-toxic, does not affect blood pressure, and possesses local anesthetic action. Internally, Dionin is administered in powders and solutions to reduce cough and pain in diseases of the respiratory tract, in whooping cough, asthma, bronchial catarrhs, laryngitis, pneumonia, pleurisy, and pulmonary tuberculosis; as a sedative and analgesic in myocarditis, angina pectoris, in cardialgias, colics, neurasthenia, in insomnia and manic excitement. Externally, Dionin is used in the form of suppositories or vaginal pessaries for painful affections of the female genital organs; in drops, Dionin is introduced into the eyes for eye diseases to anesthetize, to accelerate the resorption of exudates, and to dilate the pupils. Subcutaneous injections of Dionin are also employed. In combination with veronal, Dionin is given in the treatment of morphinism and other drug addictions. The maximum single dose of Dionin is 0.03, the daily dose is 0.1. Discovery in judicial-medical cases. Of the objects under consideration, Dionin is isolated like alkaloids, extracted from a solution with chloroform, slightly alkalized with ammonia (see Alkaloids and Poisons-Isolation). Like codeine, Dionin does not give morphine reactions caused by the presence of a free phenolic hydroxyl (reactions with ferric chloride). The Marquis reagent (solution of formaldehyde in concentrated sulfuric acid) gives, unlike morphine and codeine, first a green coloration, passing into blue, then blue-violet.