What is Benzocaine made of?

What is Benzocaine made of? Benzocaine is an ester of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA, common sunscreen molecule) and ethanol (grain alcohol).

An ester is a molecule with a bond between the hydroxy group of one molecule (ethanol) and the carboxylic acid group of another (PABA).

The reaction can be run by heating PABA (on the far left) in pure ethanol (second from left), with the addition of acid as a catalyst, until boiling, with an excess of ethanol, usually while removing water (the 2 missing hydrogens and one oxygen in the products above), which is a by product as each benzocaine ester molecule is formed.