5F-PB-22 (5F-QUPIC or quinolin-8-yl 1-pentyfluoro-1''H''-indole-3-8-carboxylate) is a

designer drug A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. D ...

which acts as a

cannabinoid agonist Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found in the cannabis plant primarily and most animal organisms (although insects lack such receptors) or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tet ...

. The structure of 5F-PB-22 appears to have been designed with an understanding of

structure–activity relationship The structure–activity relationship (SAR) is the relationship between the chemical structure of a molecule and its biological activity. This idea was first presented by Crum-Brown and Fraser in 1865. The analysis of SAR enables the determination o ...

s within the indole class of cannabinoids.

Pharmacology

5F-PB-22 acts as a

full agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the a ...

with a

binding affinity In biochemistry and pharmacology, a ligand is a substance that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. The etymology stems from ''ligare'', which means 'to bind'. In protein-ligand binding, the ligand is usually a mo ...

of 0.468 nM at CB₁ and 0.633 nM at CB₂

cannabinoid Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found in the cannabis plant primarily and most animal organisms (although insects lack such receptors) or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tet ...

receptors.

Legal status

As of October 2015 5F-PB-22 is a controlled substance in China. In January 2014, 5F-PB-22 was designated as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States after several deaths were associated with its use. In the United Kingdom, 5F-PB-22 is now classified and controlled as a

Class B drug These drugs are known in the UK as ''controlled drugs'', because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other drug ...

, following the November 2016 amendment to the

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nati ...

. Several other synthetic cannabinoids structurally related to

JWH-018 JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole, NA-PIMO 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 ...

, like 5F-PB-22, were also classified in this amendment.

References

{{Cannabinoids Cannabinoids Designer drugs Indoles Organofluorides Quinolines

Pharmacology

Legal status

See also

References