5-APB

Legal statusLegal status IdentifiersCAS NumberPubChem CIDChemSpiderUNIICompTox Dashboard (EPA)Chemical and physical dataFormulaC₁₁H₁₃NOMolar mass175.231 g·mol⁻¹3D model (JSmol) ^NY (what is this?)  (verify)

5-APB (abbreviation of "5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran"; see infobox for the correct IUPAC name) is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the substituted benzofuran, substituted amphetamine and substituted phenethylamine classes. 5-APB and other compounds are sometimes informally called "Benzofury".

5-APB is commonly found as the succinate and hydrochloride salt. The hydrochloride salt is 10% more potent by mass and doses should be adjusted accordingly.

5-APB has been sold as a designer drug since 2010.^[2]

Pharmacology

5-APB is a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor with K_i(NET)=180 nmol/L, K_i(DAT)=265 nmol/L and K_i(SERT)=811 nmol/L.^[3] It is also a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent.^[4] 5-APB is a potent agonist for the 5-HT_2A and 5-HT_2B receptors (K_i of 14 nmol/L at 5-HT_2B with an efficacy of^[3] 0.924). This agonism for 5-HT_2B makes it likely that 5-APB would be cardiotoxic with long term use, as seen in other 5-HT_2B agonists such as fenfluramine and MDMA. ^{[citation needed]} 5-APB is also an agonist of the 5-HT_2C receptor.^[5]

Detection

A forensic standard of 5-APB is available, and the compound has been posted on the Forendex website of potential drugs of abuse.^[6] The US Department of Justice and DEA have also conducted studies concerning the detection of 5-APB.^[7]

Effects

Users describe effects as euphoric. Largely, effects reported were similar to that of the drug MDMA but not as strong.^{[citation needed]} Recreational use of 5-APB has been associated with death in combination with other drugs^[8][9] and solely as the result of 5-APB.^[10]

Legality

On March 5, 2014 the UK Home Office announced that 5-APB would be made a class B drug on 10 June 2014 alongside every other benzofuran entactogen and many structurally related drugs.^[11]

References