title: Charge density and electrostatic potential analyses in paracetamol.
abstract: The electron density of monoclinic paracetamol was derived from high-resolution X-ray diffraction at 100 K. The Hansen-Coppens multipole model was used to refine the experimental electron density. The topologies of the electron density and the electrostatic potential were carefully analyzed. Numerical and analytical procedures were used to derive the charges integrated over the atomic basins. The highest charge magnitude (-1.2 e) was found for the N atom of the paracetamol molecule, which is in agreement with the observed nucleophilic attack occurring in the biological media. The electric field generated by the paracetamol molecule was used to calculate the atomic charges using the divergence theorem. This was simultaneously applied to estimate the total electrostatic force exerted on each atom of the molecule by using the Maxwell stress tensor. The interaction electrostatic energy of dimers of paracetamol in the crystal lattice was also estimated.
authors.affiliation: LSM, Laboratoire des Sciences des Matériaux, Université Cadi Ayyad, Faculté des Sciences Semlalia, Boulevard Prince Moulay Abdallah, BP 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco.
authors.forename: Nouzha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouhmaida
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonhomme
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guillot
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jelsch
authors.forename: Nour Eddine
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Ghermani
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000737:chemistry*; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D019281:Dimerization; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D000082:Acetaminophen