Feprosidnine, sold under the brand name Sydnophen, is a

stimulant Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, ...

drug which was developed in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the 1970s. It is structurally related to another Russian drug

mesocarb Mesocarb, sold under the brand name Sidnocarb or Sydnocarb and known by the developmental code name MLR-1017, is a psychostimulant medication which has been used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and for a number of other indications in ...

but unlike mesocarb, was withdrawn earlier from production. In comparison with mesocarb it has own antidepressant activity, which makes it useful in treating depressions. Indications of feprosidnine included apathic, asthenic depressions, fatigue, apathic syndrome, narcolepsy and other similar conditions. Therapeutic range of doses: 10-50mg a day. Sydnophen has multiple mechanisms of action, the relative importance of which has not been clearly established. Effects on the body include reversible monoamine oxidase inhibition,

cholinergic Cholinergic agents are compounds which mimic the action of acetylcholine and/or butyrylcholine. In general, the word " choline" describes the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the ''N'',''N'',''N''-trimethylethanolammonium cation ...

adrenergic Adrenergic means "working on adrenaline (epinephrine) or noradrenaline (norepinephrine)" (or on their receptors). When not further qualified, it is usually used in the sense of enhancing or mimicking the effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine ...

opioid Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...

and nitric oxide donating actions, all of which may contribute to its pharmacological effects to some extent.

Chemistry

Feprosidnine is a

mesoionic In chemistry, mesoionic compounds are one in which a heterocyclic structure is dipolar and where both the negative and the positive charges are delocalized. A completely uncharged structure cannot be written and mesoionic compounds cannot be repr ...

sydnone imine {{Short description, Class of chemical compounds Sydnone imine is a mesoionic heterocyclic aromatic chemical compound. Sydnone imine is the imine of sydnone where the keto functional group of sydnone (=O) has been replaced with an imine (=NH) grou ...

. A similar agent is described in the Amfetaminil article.

Synthesis

Base catalyzed reaction between

acetone cyanohydrin Acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) is an organic compound used in the production of methyl methacrylate, the monomer of the transparent plastic polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), also known as acrylic. It liberates hydrogen cyanide easily, so it is used as a ...

and 40% formaldehyde solution gives

glycolonitrile Glycolonitrile, also called hydroxyacetonitrile or formaldehyde cyanohydrin, is the organic compound with the formula HOCH2CN. It is the simplest cyanohydrin and it is derived from formaldehyde. It is a colourless liquid that dissolves in water an ...

(1) & some acetone by-product. The amphetamine 00-62-9(2) is then added and this is allowed to react overnight to give N-(1-phenyl-2-propylamine)-acetonitrile (3). Nitrosylation of the amino group by in situ creation of nitrous acid from

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

and sodium nitrite results in a 51.5% yield of feprosidnine based on the initial weight of the amine (4).

References

{{Nitric oxide signaling modulators Drugs in the Soviet Union Oxadiazoles Monoamine releasing agents Russian drugs Stimulants Wakefulness-promoting agents

Chemistry

Synthesis

See also

References