Chemistry:Formetorex

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Short description: Substituted amphetamine appetite suppressant drug
Formetorex
An image of formetamide
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
N-(1-Phenylpropan-2-yl)formamide
Other names
Formetorex
N-Formylamphetamine
N-(alpha-Methylphenethyl)formamide
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
1563
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
UNII
Properties
C10H13NO
Molar mass 163.220 g·mol−1
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references
Tracking categories (test):

Formetorex (INN), also known as formetamide or N-formylamphetamine, is a substituted amphetamine described as an anorectic which does not appear to have ever been marketed.[1]

Formetorex is also an intermediate in the production of amphetamine by the "Leuckart reaction."[2] It is also commonly found as an impurity in clandestine labs where this synthesis method is used.[2][3] Due to the simplicity of the Leuckart reaction, it is the most popular synthetic route employed for the illicit manufacture of amphetamines.[2] The synthesis involves a non-metal reduction that is typically carried out in three steps.[2] For amphetamine synthesis, a mixture of phenylacetone and formamide (sometimes in the presence of formic acid) or ammonium formate, is heated until a condensation reaction results in the intermediate product, formetamide.[2] In the second step, formetamide is hydrolysed using hydrochloric acid, and the reaction mixture is then basified, isolated, and steam distilled to produce the free base.[2] The final step, the product is dissolved in an organic solvent and precipitated as the sulphate salt of amphetamine by adding sulfuric acid.[2]

Diagram of amphetamine synthesis via the Leuckart reaction
Amphetamine synthesis via the Leuckart reaction

References

  1. Dictionary of Pharmacological Agents. CRC Press. 21 November 1996. pp. 568–. ISBN 978-0-412-46630-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_mfTTIApVEC&pg=PA568. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Laboratory and Scientific Section (2006). Recommended methods of the identification and analysis of amphetamine, methamphetamine, and their ring-substituted analogues in seized materials. New York: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Vienna. ISBN 92-1-148208-9. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/scientific/stnar34.pdf. Retrieved 14 October 2013. 
  3. "Reidentification of a major impurity in illicit amphetamine.". Journal of Forensic Sciences 24 (3): 596–9. July 1979. doi:10.1520/JFS10875J. PMID 541629. 

External links