PB-22 (QUPIC, SGT-21 or 1-pentyl-1''H''-indole-3-carboxylic acid 8-quinolinyl ester) 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. ...

offered by online vendors as a cannabimimetic agent, and detected being sold in synthetic cannabis products in Japan in 2013. PB-22 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 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 effe ...

and its analogs, or the amide of APICA and its analogs. PB-22 has an EC₅₀ of 5.1 nM for human CB₁ receptors, and 37 nM for human CB₂ receptors. PB-22 produces

bradycardia Bradycardia, also called bradyarrhythmia, is a resting heart rate under 60 beats per minute (BPM). While bradycardia can result from various pathological processes, it is commonly a physiological response to cardiovascular conditioning or due ...

and hypothermia in rats at doses of 0.3–3 mg/kg, suggesting potent cannabinoid-like activity. The magnitude and duration of hypothermia induced in rats by PB-22 was notably greater than

, AM-2201, UR-144, XLR-11, APICA, or

STS-135 STS-135 ( ISS assembly flight ULF7) was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter '' Atlantis'' and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 ...

, with a reduction of body temperature still observable six hours after dosing. One clinical toxicology study found PB-22 to be the cause of seizures in a human and his dog.

History

PB-22 was originally developed by New Zealand legal highs company Stargate International in 2012 as SGT-21, intended to be a structural hybrid of QMPSB and

. However, no intellectual property protection was applied for and the compound quickly became subject to widespread grey-market sales outside the control of the inventors.

Detection

A forensic standard of PB-22 is available, and the compound has been posted on the Forendex website of potential drugs of abuse.

Legal status

As of 9 May 2014, PB-22 is no longer legal in New Zealand. In January 2014, PB-22 was designated as a

Schedule I controlled substance The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United State ...

in the United States. In

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, PB-22 is illegal. Florida also has banned PB-22. Since 13 December 2014 it is also illegal in Germany because of adding the substance to the BtMG

Anlage II The following drugs are controlled by the German Narcotic Drugs Act ( or ). Trade and drug possession, possession of these substances without licence or prescription is considered illegal; prescription is illegal for drugs on ''Anlage I'' and II an ...

. As of October 2015 PB-22 is a controlled substance in China.

References

{{Cannabinoids Cannabinoids Designer drugs Indoles

History

Detection

Legal status

See also

References