The key difference between N acetyl L cysteine and N acetylcysteine is that the term N acetyl L cysteine states that this compound is the N-acetyl derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine whereas N acetylcysteine is the same compound as N acetyl L cysteine but the name does not give details about L cysteine.

Acetylcysteine is a medication that we use to treat paracetamol overdose. Moreover, we can use it to loosen thick mucus in individuals with cystic fibrosis. N-acetyl-cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, N-acetyl cysteine, and N-acetyl-L-cysteine are all designations for the same compound. Just the details given by the two terms N acetyl L cysteine and N acetylcysteine are different from each other.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is N Acetyl L Cysteine
3. What is N Acetylcysteine
4. Side by Side Comparison – N Acetyl L Cysteine vs N Acetylcysteine in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is N Acetyl L Cysteine?

N acetyl L cysteine is a synonym for N acetylcysteine, and both these terms designate the same chemical compound, which has the chemical formula C5H9NO3S. Unlike the name N acetylcysteine, N acetyl L cysteine describes that it is the N-acetyl derivative of L-cysteine amino acid.

Figure 01: Chemical Structure of N Acetyl L Cysteine

Above all, this compound serves as a prodrug to L-cysteine. In particular, we can denote this name as NALC.

What is N Acetylcysteine?

N acetylcysteine is a medication that we can use to treat overdose of paracetamol and to loosen thick mucus in individuals having cystic fibrosis. We can take this medication intravenously, oral administration or via inhaling as a mist. The chemical formula for this compound is C5H9NO3S.

Figure 02: Chemical Structure of N Acetylcysteine

Also, the synonyms for the same compound are N-acetyl-cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, N-acetyl cysteine, and N-acetyl-L-cysteine. In particular, we can denote the name N acetylcysteine as NAC.

What is the Difference Between N Acetyl L Cysteine and N Acetylcysteine?

N acetyl L cysteine is a synonym for N acetylcysteine, and both these terms designate the same chemical compound which has the chemical formula C5H9NO3S. But, each of these names gives different details about the chemical structure of the chemical compound. Hence, the key difference between N acetyl L cysteine and N acetylcysteine is that the term N acetyl L cysteine states that this compound is the N-acetyl derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine whereas N acetylcysteine is the same compound as N acetyl L cysteine but the name does not give details about L cysteine. Accordingly, the denotation of each name is also different from each other; we can denote N acetyl L cysteine as NALC while we can denote N acetylcysteine as NAC.

Summary – N Acetyl L Cysteine vs N Acetylcysteine

Both names N acetyl L cysteine and N acetylcysteine refer to the same chemical compound, but the two terms differ from each other according to the details given by those names. Therefore, the key difference between N acetyl L cysteine and N acetylcysteine is that the term N acetyl L cysteine states that this compound is the N-acetyl derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine whereas N acetylcysteine is the same compound as N acetyl L cysteine but the name does not give details about L cysteine.

Reference:

1. Sansone, Randy A., and Lori A. Sansone. “N Acetyl L Cysteine vs N Acetyl Cysteine.” Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, Matrix Medical Communications, Jan. 2011. Available here  
2. “Acetylcysteine.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2018. Available here

Image Courtesy:

1.”N-Acetyl-L-cystein phys”By NEUROtiker – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”(R)-N-Acetylcysteine Structural Formulae”By Jü – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  

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