JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) or AM-678 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. It produces effects in animals similar to those of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a cannabinoid naturally present in cannabis, leading to its use in synthetic cannabis products that in some countries are sold legally as "incense blends".
AM-2201 is a recreational designer drug that acts as a potent but nonselective full agonist for the cannabinoid receptor. It is part of the AM series of cannabinoids discovered by Alexandros Makriyannis at Northeastern University.
UR-144 (TMCP-018, KM-X1, MN-001, YX-17) is a drug invented by Abbott Laboratories, that acts as a selective full agonist of the peripheral cannabinoid receptor CB2, but with much lower affinity for the psychoactive CB1 receptor.
XLR-11 (5"-fluoro-UR-144 or 5F-UR-144) is a drug that acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 with EC50 values of 98 nM and 83 nM, respectively. It is a 3-(tetramethylcyclopropylmethanoyl)indole derivative related to compounds such as UR-144, A-796,260 and A-834,735, but it is not specifically listed in the patent or scientific literature alongside these other similar compounds, and appears to have not previously been made by Abbott Laboratories, despite falling within the claims of patent WO 2006/069196. XLR-11 was found to produce rapid, short-lived hypothermic effects in rats at doses of 3 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, suggesting that it is of comparable potency to APICA and STS-135.
EAM-2201 is a drug that presumably acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors. It had never previously been reported in the scientific or patent literature, and was first identified by laboratories in Japan in July 2012 as an ingredient in synthetic cannabis smoking blends Like the closely related MAM-2201 which had been first reported around a year earlier, EAM-2201 thus appears to be another novel compound invented by designer drug suppliers specifically for recreational use. Structurally, EAM-2201 is a hybrid of two known cannabinoid compounds JWH-210 and AM-2201, both of which had previously been used as active ingredients in synthetic cannabis blends before being banned in many countries.
APICA is an indole based drug that acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors.
STS-135 (N-(adamantan-1-yl)-1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide, also called 5F-APICA) is a designer drug offered by online vendors as a cannabimimetic agent. The structure of STS-135 appears to use an understanding of structure-activity relationships within the indole class of cannabimimetics, although its design origins are unclear. STS-135 is the terminally-fluorinated analogue of SDB-001, just as AM-2201 is the terminally-fluorinated analogue of JWH-018, and XLR-11 is the terminally-fluorinated analogue of UR-144. STS-135 acts a potent cannabinoid receptor agonist in vitro, with an EC50 of 51 nM for human CB2 receptors, and 13 nM for human CB1 receptors. STS-135 produces bradycardia and hypothermia in rats at doses of 1–10 mg/kg, suggesting cannabinoid-like activity.
QUCHIC is a designer drug offered by online vendors as a cannabimimetic agent, and was first detected being sold in synthetic cannabis products in Japan in early 2013, and subsequently also in New Zealand. The structure of QUCHIC appears to use an understanding of structure-activity relationships within the indole class of cannabimimetics, although its design origins are unclear. QUCHIC, along with QUPIC, represents a structurally unique synthetic cannabinoid chemotype since it contains an ester linker at the indole 3-position rather than the precedented ketone of JWH-018 and its analogues, or the amide of SDB-001 and its analogues.
5F-PB-22 is a designer drug which acts as a cannabinoid agonist. The structure of 5F-PB-22 appears to have been designed with an understanding of structure–activity relationships within the indole class of cannabinoids.
ADBICA (also known as ADB-PICA) is a designer drug identified in synthetic cannabis blends in Japan in 2013. ADBICA had not previously been reported in the scientific literature prior to its sale as a component of synthetic cannabis blends. ADBICA features a carboxamide group at the 3-indole position, like SDB-001 and STS-135. The stereochemistry of the tert-butyl side-chain in the product is unresolved, though in a large series of indazole derivatives structurally similar to ADBICA that are disclosed in Pfizer patent WO 2009/106980, activity resides exclusively in the (S) enantiomers. ADBICA is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor and CB2 receptor with an EC50 value of 0.69 nM and 1.8 nM respectively.
ADB-FUBINACA is a designer drug identified in synthetic cannabis blends in Japan in 2013. In 2018, it was the third-most common synthetic cannabinoid identified in drugs seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
SDB-006 is a drug that acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with an EC50 of 19 nM for human CB2 receptors, and 134 nM for human CB1 receptors. It was discovered during research into the related compound SDB-001 which had been sold illicitly as "2NE1". SDB-006 metabolism has been described in literature.
5F-AMB (also known as 5F-MMB-PINACA and 5F-AMB-PINACA) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid from the indazole-3-carboxamide family, which has been used as an active ingredient in synthetic cannabis products. It was first identified in Japan in early 2014. Although only very little pharmacological information about 5F-AMB itself exists, its 4-cyanobutyl analogue (instead of 5-fluoropentyl) has been reported to be a potent agonist for the CB1 receptor (KI = 0.7 nM).
5F-SDB-006 is a drug that acts as a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with an EC50 of 50 nM for human CB1 receptors, and 123 nM for human CB2 receptors. It was discovered during research into the related compound APICA which had been sold illicitly as "2NE1". 5F-SDB-006 is the terminally fluorinated analog of SDB-006, just as STS-135 is the terminally fluorinated analog of APICA. Given the known metabolic liberation (and presence as an impurity) of amantadine in the related compound APINACA, it is suspected that metabolic hydrolysis of the amide group of 5F-SDB-006 may release benzylamine.
NNE1 (also known as NNEI, MN-24 and AM-6527) is an indole-based synthetic cannabinoid, representing a molecular hybrid of APICA and JWH-018 that is an agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with Ki values of 60.09 nM at CB1 and 45.298 nM at CB2 and EC50 values of 9.481 nM at CB1 and 1.008 nM at CB2. It was invented by Abbott and has a CB1 receptor pEC50 of 8.9 with around 80x selectivity over the related CB2 receptor. It is suspected that metabolic hydrolysis of the amide group of NNE1 may release 1-naphthylamine, a known carcinogen, given the known metabolic liberation (and presence as an impurity) of amantadine in the related compound APINACA, and NNE1 was banned in New Zealand in 2012 as a temporary class drug to stop it being used as an ingredient in then-legal synthetic cannabis products. NNE1 was subsequently found to be responsible for the death of a man in Japan in 2014.
FUB-PB-22 (QUFUBIC) is an indole-based synthetic cannabinoid that is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor and has been sold online as a designer drug.
QMPSB is an arylsulfonamide-based synthetic cannabinoid that has been sold as a designer drug.
NE-CHMIMO (CHM-018) is an indole-based synthetic cannabinoid that is presumed to be a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor and has been sold online as a designer drug. NE-CHMIMO is the 1-cyclohexylmethyl (instead of 1-pentyl) analogue of the first-generation synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018. The corresponding cyclohexylmethyl derivative of JWH-081 had also been reported several months earlier.
2F-QMPSB (SGT-13) is an arylsulfonamide-based synthetic cannabinoid that is a fluorinated derivative of QMPSB and has been sold as a designer drug. Its identification was first reported by a forensic laboratory in Italy in January 2019, and it was made illegal in Latvia shortly afterwards. Fluorination of the tail group is a common strategy to increase potency at cannabinoid receptors which is seen in many related series of compounds.
