Heterocyclic compound

In organic chemistry, a heterocyclic compound is a chemical compound that has a ring of atoms (it is a cyclic compound), and at least one atom in the ring is not carbon. The ring is called a heterocycle, and the non-carbon atoms are called heteroatoms.

 Example heterocycle families 
 Class  Ring size  Heteroatom(s)  Example  Example structure Epoxides  3  1 oxygen  Propylene oxide  80px Monosaccharides  5 (furanose) or 6 (pyranose)  1 oxygen  Glucopyranose  80px Lactams  Any  1 nitrogen  Caprolactam  80px Crown ethers  Any  Oxygen, fixed ratio to carbon  18-crown-6  80px Penicillins  4 and 5, fused  1 nitrogen, 1 sulfur  Penicillin  80px Porphyrins  5, four rings  1 nitrogen per ring  Heme  80px

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