Difluoromethylenedioxyamphetamine (DiFMDA) is a substituted derivative of
3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (also known as MDA and sass) is an empathogen-entactogen, psychostimulant, and psychedelic drug of the amphetamine family that is encountered mainly as a recreational drug. In terms of pharmacology, MDA acts mo ...
(MDA), which was developed by Daniel Trachsel and coworkers, along with the corresponding fluorinated derivatives of MDMA, MDEA, BDB and MBDB, with the aim of finding a non-neurotoxic drug able to be used as a less harmful substitute for
entactogenic drugs such as
MDMA. Since a major route of the normal metabolism of these compounds is scission of the
methylenedioxy ring, producing neurotoxic metabolites such as
alpha-methyldopamine, it was hoped that the difluoromethylenedioxy
bioisostere would show increased metabolic stability and less toxicity.
These compounds have not yet been tested in animals to verify whether they show similar pharmacological activity to the non-fluorinated parent compounds, although ''in vitro'' binding studies show DFMDA to have a
SERT affinity in between that of MDA and MDMA.
It is also now generally accepted that MDMA neurotoxicity results from a variety of different causes and is not solely due to accumulation of alpha-methyldopamine,
making it unclear how much less neurotoxic DFMDA and related drugs would be in practice.
References
{{Phenethylamines
Substituted amphetamines
Designer drugs
Serotonin releasing agents
Organofluorides
Entactogens and empathogens