Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a treatment for depression and pain management. It is a novel compound that was derived from phencyclidine in 1962 in pursuit of a safer anesthetic with fewer hallucinogenic effects.
Phencyclidine or phenylcyclohexyl piperidine (PCP), also known in its use as a street drug as angel dust among other names, is a dissociative anesthetic mainly used recreationally for its significant mind-altering effects. PCP may cause hallucinations, distorted perceptions of sounds, and violent behavior. As a recreational drug, it is typically smoked, but may be taken by mouth, snorted, or injected. It may also be mixed with cannabis or tobacco.
NMDA receptor antagonists are a class of drugs that work to antagonize, or inhibit the action of, the N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). They are commonly used as anesthetics for humans and non-human animals; the state of anesthesia they induce is referred to as dissociative anesthesia.
5-Fluoro-α-methyltryptamine, also known as PAL-544, is a putative stimulant, entactogen, and psychedelic tryptamine derivative related to α-methyltryptamine (αMT). It has been found to act as a well-balanced serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent, a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, and a potent and specific MAO-A inhibitor. which suggests that 5-fluoro-αMT could be an active psychedelic in humans, although it is not known to have been tested in humans and could be dangerous due to its strong inhibition of MAO-A.
RWJ-51204 is an anxiolytic drug used in scientific research. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic.
Arylcyclohexylamines, also known as arylcyclohexamines or arylcyclohexanamines, are a chemical class of pharmaceutical, designer, and experimental drugs.
2-Fluoromethamphetamine (2-FMA) is a stimulant drug of the amphetamine family which has been used as a designer drug. 2-FMA is commonly compared to lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), and dextroamphetamine due to its efficacy as a study or productivity aid. 2-FMA is purported to produce somewhat less euphoria than comparable amphetamines, likely due to its main mechanism of action consisting of norepinephrine reuptake inhibition.
3-Methoxyphencyclidine (3-MeO-PCP) is a dissociative hallucinogen of the arylcyclohexylamine class related to phencyclidine (PCP) which has been sold online as a designer drug. It acts mainly as an NMDA receptor antagonist, though it has also been found to interact with the sigma σ1 receptor and the serotonin transporter. The drug does not possess any opioid activity nor does it act as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.
Methoxetamine, abbreviated as MXE, is a dissociative hallucinogen that has been sold as a designer drug. It differs from many dissociatives such as ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP) that were developed as pharmaceutical drugs for use as general anesthetics in that it was designed specifically to increase the antidepressant effects of ketamine.
AB-CHFUPYCA is a compound that was first identified as a component of synthetic cannabis products in Japan in 2015. The name "AB-CHFUPYCA" is an acronym of its systematic name N-(1-Amino-3-methyl-1-oxoButan-2-yl)-1-(CycloHexylmethyl)-3-(4-FlUorophenyl)-1H-PYrazole-5-CarboxAmide. There are two known regioisomers of AB-CHFUPYCA: 3,5-AB-CHMFUPPYCA (pictured) and 5,3-AB-CHMFUPPYCA. The article[1] refers to both 3,5-AB-CHMFUPPYCA and 5,3-AB-CHMFUPPYCA as AB-CHMFUPPYCA isomers, so AB-CHMFUPPYCA and AB-CHFUPYCA are not names for a unique chemical structure.
α-Pyrrolidinohexiophenone is a synthetic stimulant drug of the cathinone class developed in the 1960s which has been reported as a novel designer drug.
MDMB-FUBINACA (also known as MDMB(N)-Bz-F and FUB-MDMB) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid that is a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with Ki values of 1.14 nM at CB1 and 0.1228 nM at CB2 and EC50 values of 0.2668 nM at CB1 and 0.1411 nM at CB2, and has been sold online as a designer drug. Its benzyl analogue (instead of 4-fluorobenzyl) has been reported to be a potent agonist for the CB1 receptor (Ki = 0.14 nM, EC50 = 2.42 nM). The structure of MDMB-FUBINACA contains the amino acid, 3-methylvaline or tert-leucine methyl ester.
2-Fluorodeschloroketamine is a dissociative anesthetic related to ketamine. Its sale and use as a designer drug has been reported in various countries. It is an analogue of ketamine where the chlorine group has been replaced by fluorine. Due to its recent emergence, the pharmacological specifics of the compound are mostly unclear, but effects are reported to be similar to its parent compound, ketamine.
2-Oxo-PCE is a dissociative anesthetic of the arylcyclohexylamine class that is closely related to deschloroketamine and eticyclidine, and has been sold online as a designer drug.
Azvudine is an antiviral drug which acts as a reverse transcriptase inhibitor. It was discovered for the treatment of hepatitis C and has since been investigated for use against other viral diseases such as AIDS and COVID-19, for which it was granted conditional approval in China.
2-Bromodeschloroketamine is a chemical compound of the arylcyclohexylamine class, which is an analog of the dissociative anesthetic drug ketamine in which the chlorine atom has been replaced with a bromine atom. It is used in scientific research as a comparison or control compound in studies into the metabolism of ketamine and norketamine, and has also been sold online alongside arylcyclohexylamine designer drugs, though it is unclear whether bromoketamine has similar pharmacological activity.
N-t-BOC-MDMA is a chemical compound which can be both a synthetic precursor to, or a prodrug of the empathogenic drug MDMA. It was first identified in Australia in 2015 as a seizure by customs, and has subsequently been found in China, the Netherlands and other European countries. Originally it was thought to be intended as a non-illegal form of MDMA which could be easily converted into the prohibited final product after importation, however one seizure by police found N-t-BOC-MDMA in the process of being pressed into pills, and experiments with simulated gastric fluid confirmed that it can be broken down to MDMA by human stomach acid. Similar N-protected compounds such as N-t-BOC-methamphetamine, N-p-tosyl-methamphetamine, N-t-BOC-ketamine, N-t-BOC-norketamine, and N-methoxycarbonyl-MDA have also been encountered by law enforcement.
Fluorexetamine is a recreational designer drug from the arylcyclohexylamine family, with dissociative effects. It has reportedly been sold over the internet since around 2017, though has remained relatively uncommon.
