1-Heptanol is an alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 with a seven carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 chain and the structural formula of CH₃(CH₂)₆OH. It is a clear colorless liquid that is very slightly soluble in water, but miscible with ether

Diethyl ether

Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...

 and ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

.

Overview

There are three other isomers of heptanol that have a straight chain, 2-heptanol

2-heptanol

2-Heptanol is a chemical compound which is an isomer of heptanol. It is a secondary alcohol with the hydroxyl on the second carbon of the straight seven-carbon chain.2-Heptanol is chiral, so - and - isomers exist....

, 3-heptanol

3-Heptanol

3-Heptanol or heptan-3-ol is an organic alcohol with the chemical formula C7H16O.3-Heptanol is chiral, so - and - isomers exist....

, and 4-heptanol, which differ by the location of the alcohol functional group

Functional group

In organic chemistry, functional groups are specific groups of atoms within molecules that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reaction regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of...

.

Heptanol is commonly used in cardiac electrophysiology

Cardiac electrophysiology

Cardiac electrophysiology is the science of elucidating, diagnosing, and treating the electrical activities of the heart. The term is usually used to describe studies of such phenomena by invasive catheter recording of spontaneous activity as well as of cardiac responses to programmed electrical...

 experiments to block gap junctions and increase axial resistance between myocytes. Increasing axial resistance will decrease conduction velocity and increase the heart's susceptibility to reentrant excitation and sustained arrhythmias.

1-Heptanol has a pleasant smell and is used in cosmetics for its fragrance.