Beta - Eucaine Information

Chemical structure of Eucaine a synthetic form of cocaine

Use for Eucaine
Use: Local anesthetic for ophthalmologic, rhinologic and dental uses in 2% or 3% aq. soln. For nose and throat a 5—10% aq. soln. In Schleich's method of infiltration anesthesia, 4—5% soln. In hemorrhoids, a 5-10% ointment with 2% menthol. Subcut. in sciatica, 70-100 cc (2 1/4-3 1/4 fl.oz.) of a 1% soln. injected near sciatic nerve. Incompat. Salicylates.

Taken from the Merck Index 5th edition 1940

Eucaine made by E. Schering of Berlin Germany

Eucaine, beta eucaine, benzamine, synthetic cocaine,
Eucaine can be called by beta eucaine, benzamine, synthetic cocaine, Betaeucaine HCl, Eucaine Hydrochloridum.

Racemic Benzamine, Betacaine or Betaeucaine Hydrochloride. White, odorless, cryst. powder. Melts about 270° with decomposition. One Gm dissolves in 30 cc water, 35 cc alcohol, 6 cc chloroform; more soluble in boil, water or boil, alcohol. The aq. soln. is neutral to litmus.

Interestingly, the drug is no longer listed in any of the current dispensatories or pharmacopoeias like Facts and Comparisons, the USP NF, or Martindales.

As of 1943 Eucaine had fallen out of favor... Eucaine was one of the earlier substitutes for cocaine as a local anesthetic. It has the advantages of not dilating the pupil, not contracting arteries, nor being habit forming. Although Eggleston and Hatcher (/. P. Ex. T., 1919, 13, 433) showed that intravenously it was about as poisonous as cocaine, when given hypodermically it was much less toxic. However, as a surface anesthetic it is inferior to cocaine and by injection is more poisonous than procaine and is today rarely employed. It may be applied in strengths of from 1 to 5 per cent.

Storage.—Preserve "in well-closed, light-resistant containers."

Assay of Eucaine

Description and Tests.—"Eucaine Hydrochloride occurs as a white, odorless, crystalline powder. It is stable in air, but is affected by light. One Gm. of Eucaine Hydrochloride dissolves in 30 cc. of water, in 35 cc. of alcohol, and in about 6 cc. of chloroform, at 25° C. It is more soluble in boiling water and in boiling alcohol. Identification.—(a) Dissolve about 0.1 Gm. of Eucaine Hydrochloride in 1 cc. of sulfuric acid. Keep the solution at 100° C. for 5 minutes, and then mix it cautiously with 2 cc. of distilled water: the mixture develops an aromatic odor of methyl benzoate, and on cooling deposits crystals of benzoic acid, (b) Separate 10-cc. portions of a saturated, aqueous solution of Eucaine Hydrochloride yield a white, curdy precipitate on the addition of mercuric chloride T.S., and a yellowish, curdy precipitate with a few drops of a mixture of equal volumes of potassium chromate T.S. and diluted sulfuric acid, (c) Silver nitrate T.S. produces in an aqueous solution of Eucaine Hydrochloride (1 in 100) a white precipitate which is insoluble in nitric acid. Loss on drying.—When dried over sulfuric acid for 18 hours, Eucaine Hydrochloride loses not more than 1 per cent of its weight. Cocaine hydrochloride.—Triturate about 50 mg. of Eucaine Hydrochloride with about 5 times its weight of mild mercurous chloride, and moisten the mixture with a few drops of distilled water: no black color is produced. Cocaine and alphaeucaine.— Add 5 cc. of mercuric chloride T.S. to 5 cc. of an aqueous solution of Eucaine Hydrochloride (1 in 100): no permanent precipitate is produced. Ash.—The ash from 0.5 Gm. of Eucaine Hydro-chloride is negligible. Carbonizable substances.— Dissolve 0.1 Gm. of Eucaine Hydrochloride in 1 cc. of sulfuric acid: the solution is colorless. Reaction.—An aqueous solution of Eucaine Hy-drochloride (1 in 50) is neutral to litmus paper. "Assay.—Dissolve about 0.5 Gm. of Eucaine Hydrochloride, previously
dried to constant weight at 100° C. and accurately weighed, in 100 cc. of neutralized alcohol. Titrate this alcoholic solution with tenth-normal sodium hydroxide, using phenolphthalein T.S. as the indicator.

Wood - Osol United States Dispensatory 23rd Edition 1943