Beyond Medicine: Paracetamol as Reagent in Multicomponent Synthesis of 1,3-Benzoxazine

A multicomponent reaction was adapted and successfully applied in the major organic course, which involves synthesizing and characterizing a 1,3-benzoxazine derived from paracetamol extracted from tablets of the worldwide well-known medicine Tylenol. Using paracetamol as a reagent is a motivational strategy in undergraduate laboratories to meet the learning goals of training students in solid-liquid extraction and compound characterization by NMR and FTIR and reaction mechanism discussions in the context of a multicomponent reaction. The multifaceted nature of this experiment encourages students to recognize the potential use of everyday materials as chemical reagents, while providing insights into modern chemistry concepts.