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.