Cadaverine (C5H14N2): structure, properties and hazards

Names and identifiers

IUPAC name: pentane-1,5-diamine
Synonyms: pentane-1,5-diamine, pentamethylenediamine, decay amine
+ 37 more
Pentane-1,5-diamine, 1,5-Diaminopentane, 1,5-pentanediamine, Cadaverin, 1,5-Pentamethylenediamine, Animal coniine, 1,5-Diamino-n-pentane, L90BEN6OLL, DTXSID5075448, CHEBI:18127, 1,5 Pentanediamine, RefChem:5628, DTXCID9040479, 207-329-0, AI3-26937, BRN 1697256, CHEMBL119296, MFCD00008239, pentane, 1,5-diamino-, N2P, Pentamethylenediamine dihydrochloride, EINECS 207-329-0, UNII-L90BEN6OLL, HSDB 7866, Cadaverine, 95%, 1,5-diamino-pentane, BioDex 1-, 1,5-Amylene diamine, CADAVERINE [MI], alpha,omega-Pentanediamine, bmse000072, EC 207-329-0, SCHEMBL21367, 4-04-00-01310 (Beilstein Handbook Reference), SCHEMBL526333, SCHEMBL652435, Cadaverine, analytical standard
Molecular formula: C₅H₁₄N₂
Empirical formula: C₅H₁₄N₂
Molecular weight: 102.18 g/mol
Exact mass: 102.11570
CAS number: 462-94-2
PubChem CID: 273
Canonical SMILES: C(CCN)CCN
Isomeric SMILES: C(CCN)CCN
InChI: InChI=1S/C5H14N2/c6-4-2-1-3-5-7/h1-7H2
InChIKey: VHRGRCVQAFMJIZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Molfile

Names, InChI and the identifiers from PubChem, retrieved 2026-10-14.

Physical properties

TemperaturePressureDensity

Appearance: Thick fuming liquid[2]
3 values
From Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), the most authoritative source here.
Value As written Source
– CBI [1] EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR)
– Syrupy, colorless liquid [2] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J. Sr.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 15th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY 2007., p. 208
–shown Thick fuming liquid [2] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. V3: 2843
Odor: ... partially responsible for the distinctive smell of urine and semen[2]
Flash point: 62 °C (144 °F) - closed cup[2]

Value	As written	Source
–	CBI	[1] EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR)
–	Syrupy, colorless liquid	[2] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J. Sr.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 15th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY 2007., p. 208
–shown	Thick fuming liquid	[2] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. V3: 2843

Each value as its source reports it, with the source's number after it (listed under References). Where several sources report a property, the row shows the value most of them agree on, the rule the app uses; open the values to see every one.

Calculated

Heavy atoms: 7
Rings: 0
Aromatic rings: 0
Fraction sp³ carbons (Fsp3): 1
H-bond donors: 2
H-bond acceptors: 2
Rotatable bonds: 4
TPSA (Å²): 52
Formal charge: 0
XLogP3: -0.6 PubChem
Complexity: 25 PubChem
Stereocenters: None
Double-bond geometry: None specified
Point group: C1 of one 3D conformer with its hydrogens, by Athanor’s engine (as in the app)

Elemental analysis

C58.77%
H13.81%
N27.42%

Isotope pattern

Each peak is a nominal mass with its abundance-weighted exact mass, as a percentage of the tallest, from IUPAC natural isotope abundances.

Computed from the structure with RDKit 2026.09 when this page was built, beside PubChem's own computed values from its record; where the two differ, both are shown.

Predicted

log P: 0.07 Crippen (Wildman and Crippen 1999)
log S (water solubility): -0.26 ESOL (Delaney 2004), log mol/L
Synthetic accessibility: 1.94 SA score, 1 easy to 10 hard (Ertl and Schuffenhauer 2009)

Drug-likeness: Lipinski’s rule of five

Molecular weight ≤ 500: 102.18
log P ≤ 5 (Crippen): 0.07
H-bond donors ≤ 5: 2
H-bond acceptors ≤ 10: 2

Passes all four rules.

¹³C NMR shifts, predicted

Predictions, not measurements; each names its method. A measured log P, where a source reports one, is under Physical properties.

Safety

Danger

Most widely reported: 162 company reports to ECHA. Source [3].

Corrosive
Harmful or irritant

NFPA 704[2]

H302+H312Harmful if swallowed or in contact with skin (64.2% of reports)
H302Harmful if swallowed (68.5% of reports)
H312Harmful in contact with skin (71% of reports)
H314Causes severe skin burns and eye damage
H318Causes serious eye damage (70.4% of reports)

Precautionary statements: P260, P264, P264+P265, P270, P280, P301+P317, P301+P330+P331, P302+P352, P302+P361+P354, P304+P340, P305+P354+P338, P316, P317, P321, P330, P362+P364, P363, P405, P501

Storage

Keep container tightly closed in a dry and well-ventilated place. Containers which are opened must be carefully resealed and kept upright to prevent leakage. Store under inert gas.[2]

Incompatibilities

Materials to avoid Acid chlorides, Acid anhydrides, acids, Strong oxidizing agents, Carbon dioxide (CO2)[2]

Safety data sheets on the supplier’s page: LGC Standards, Key Organics/BIONET, Biosynth.

Always read the supplier’s safety data sheet before working with it.

Spectra

Experimental spectra held by these sources; each link opens the source's own record.

Literature

Reading PubChem, OpenAlex and GSRS…

Bioactivity

Reading ChEMBL…

References

[1]EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) · Public domain (US EPA) · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[2]Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · Public domain (US NLM) · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[3]European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) · ECHA legal notice: reuse with acknowledgement · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[4]NMRShiftDB · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[5]Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[6]SpectraBase · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[7]MassBank Europe · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[8]MassBank of North America (MoNA) · CC BY 4.0 · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[9]NIST Mass Spectrometry Data Center · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
·Calculated values: computed by Athanor with RDKit 2026.09 from the structure.
·Literature on PubChem

Data last updated 2026-10-14.

Similar structures

Tanimoto similarity on Morgan fingerprints (radius 2) with RDKit 2026.09, at least 45%.