Editing Hydrocodone (section)

==Chemistry==
===Detection in body fluids===
Hydrocodone concentrations are measured in blood, plasma, and urine to seek evidence of misuse, to confirm diagnoses of poisoning, and to assist in investigations into deaths. Many commercial opiate screening tests react indiscriminately with hydrocodone, other opiates, and their metabolites, but chromatographic techniques can easily distinguish hydrocodone uniquely. Blood and plasma hydrocodone concentrations typically fall into the 5–30&nbsp;μg/L range among people taking the drug therapeutically, 100–200&nbsp;μg/L among recreational users, and 100–1,600&nbsp;μg/L in cases of acute, fatal overdosage. Co-administration of the drug with food or alcohol can very significantly increase the resulting plasma hydrocodone concentrations that are subsequently achieved.<ref name="pmid12665006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Spiller HA | title = Postmortem oxycodone and hydrocodone blood concentrations | journal = Journal of Forensic Sciences | volume = 48 | issue = 2 | pages = 429–431 | date = March 2003 | pmid = 12665006 | doi = 10.1520/JFS2002309 }}</ref><ref name="Baselt2017">{{cite book| vauthors = Baselt RC |title=Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoKctAEACAAJ|year=2017|publisher=Biomedical Publications|isbn=978-0-692-77499-1|pages=1050–1052}}</ref>

===Synthesis===
Hydrocodone is most commonly synthesized from [[thebaine]], a constituent of opium latex from the dried poppy plant. Once thebaine is obtained, the reaction undergoes [[hydrogenation]] using a palladium catalyst.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Carroll RJ, Leisch H, Rochon L, Hudlicky T, Cox DP | title = One-pot conversion of thebaine to hydrocodone and synthesis of neopinone ketal | journal = The Journal of Organic Chemistry | volume = 74 | issue = 2 | pages = 747–752 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 19072148 | doi = 10.1021/jo802454v }}</ref>

=== Structure ===
There are three important structures in hydrocodone: the [[amine group]], which binds to the tertiary nitrogen binding site in the central nervous system's [[opioid receptor]], the [[hydroxy group]] that binds to the anionic binding site, and the [[phenyl group]] which binds to the phenolic binding site.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Sinatra RS |title=The Essence of Analgesia and Analgesics |date=6 December 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780511841378 |pages=73, 81 }}</ref> This triggers a G protein activation and subsequent release of [[dopamine]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Cruz SL |title=Neuroscience in the 21st Century |date=27 October 2016 |publisher=Springer |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1-4939-3474-4 |pages=3626, 3657 }}</ref>