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Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
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<p>Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, pentyl, PENTA (<i>ПЕНТА</i>, primarily in Russian), TEN (tetraeritrit nitrate), corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as <i>nitropenta</i>), is an <a href="/facts/Explosive/sUme5Pp8">explosive</a> material. It is the <a href="/facts/Nitrate_ester/4mSHBqaw">nitrate ester</a> of <a href="/facts/Pentaerythritol/UakoRwtW">pentaerythritol</a>, and is structurally very similar to <a href="/facts/Nitroglycerin/GUzdegnK">nitroglycerin</a>. <a href="/facts/Penta-/b5sechhR">Penta</a> refers to the five <a href="/facts/Carbon_atom/ukrgQexo">carbon atoms</a> of the <a href="/facts/Neopentane/8KHow6mz">neopentane</a> skeleton. PETN is a very powerful explosive material with a <a href="/facts/Relative_effectiveness_factor/nEQ5z8mp">relative effectiveness factor</a> of 1.66. When mixed with a <a href="/facts/Plasticizer/RjzuplRY">plasticizer</a>, PETN forms a <a href="/facts/Plastic_explosive/Vvo6CPaX">plastic explosive</a>. Along with <a href="/facts/RDX/ke3nK9zI">RDX</a> it is the main ingredient of <a href="/facts/Semtex/hVVkPwcv">Semtex</a>. </p><p>PETN is also used as a <a href="/facts/Vasodilation/cjzrU8Ro">vasodilator</a> drug to treat certain heart conditions, such as for management of <a href="/facts/Angina/rT1brdwS">angina</a>. </p>