Alprazolam triazolobenzophenone is a chemical compound that is a

prodrug A prodrug is a pharmacologically inactive medication or compound that, after intake, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug can be ...

for the

benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), colloquially known as "benzos", are a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant, depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed t ...

derivative

alprazolam Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group of chemicals called benzodiazepines. Alprazolam is most commonly prescribed in the ...

. At neutral pH it readily cyclizes to alprazolam, while in acidic conditions alprazolam undergoes a ring-opening reaction back to the ketone. A series of related

acyl In chemistry, an acyl group is a moiety derived by the removal of one or more hydroxyl groups from an oxoacid, including inorganic acids. It contains a double-bonded oxygen atom and an organyl group () or hydrogen in the case of formyl grou ...

derivatives was researched in the 1980s as injectable water-soluble prodrugs of alprazolam, but were never developed for medical use. Subsequently, this compound has been detected as 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. ...

, first being identified from a seizure in Spain in March 2014.

References

2-Aminobenzophenones Chlorobenzene derivatives Benzodiazepine prodrugs {{nervous-system-drug-stub

See also

References