Methadone unlike other analgesic opioids possesses many distinguishing attributes as to why in present day it is compelling a larger demographic of medical institutes, physicians and anesthetists to use this drug in a clinical setting. In contrast to many other potent opioid analgesic compounds, Methadone can be synthesized via synthetic processes from readily available precursors.
As demonstrated in Figure A, the basis for this synthesis comes from reacting methadone nitrile with ethyl magnesium bromide, then with the subsequent hydrolysis the racemic mixture of methadone is derived. In addition to this, the time that the compound is active in binding to neuro-receptors compared to a more well-known opioid, morphine, is up to three and
Tanner, G., Bordon, N., Conroy, S., & Best, D. (2011). Comparing methadone and suboxone in
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
Where did this drug come from and what makes it different from any other drug that is on the market? Heroin's origins go back long before Christ was a bleep on the radar. It goes back to 1200 B.C. Or the Bronze Age. At that time how ever heroin would be known as its chemically altered state of the poppy seeds. Even at that time however the ancient peoples of that time knew that if the poppy seeds juice were collected and dried. the extract that was left behind could make a effective painkiller. This would later be named opium. There were small incidents of it appearing in Europe, for instance it was used by the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. But as a whole it would take more then a millennium for opium to travel from the Middle East to the Europe. This only occurred do to crusades. In just a few hundred after that is went from a rarely used painkiller to a liquid that was said to cure all aliments and would even lead to the most humiliating defeat China Empire. In the 1803 opium became dwarfed by its new brother morphine which is named in honor of the Greek god Morpheus who is the god of dreams. Morphine is an extract of opium and is ruffly 10 times the strength of its counter part. After Morphine creation it was put to used almost at once to assist battle field victims. This was a mistake however, because this refined does of opium is also 10 times more addicting then it was in its original form. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would retur...
“It is synthesized from the leaves of the coca plant to form a paste. This paste is further synthesized and cut with adulterant substances to make it into street-level cocaine that can be injected, snorted or smoked. To make the paste, there is a process of extracting the cocaine that includes the use of toxic chemicals. There are two main ways that the cocaine paste is made: solvent extraction and acid extraction”.
By the year 2000 opioid medicine containing oxycodone etc., are being abused and misused and more than doubled in 10 years’ time.
Introduction Anesthetic agents were found as part of the research on developing structural mimics of cocaine. Cocaine is an alkaloid that can be found in the cocoa plant. Cocaine is known to have addictive properties as well as the anesthetic properties. There were compelling arguments to develop a synthetic version of cocaine that was devoid of the addiction potential (1). Lidocaine is the generic name of a drug commonly used as an anesthetic.
There are different forms of Opioids manufactured such as Morphine, Oxycodone, Buprenorphine, Hydrocodone, and Methadone. They are marketed under different brands such as Demerol, Oxycontin, Tylox, Percocet, and Vicodin and can be prescribed in liquid, tablets, capsules, and patches.
McKetin, R., Sutherland, R., Bright, D., & Norberg, M. A Systematic Review of Methamphetamine Precursor Regulations. Addiction, 6, 1911-1924. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03582.x
Unlike the ideal, most things are not pure in composition. Unfortunately to achieve a specific reaction without any unexpected and possibly unwanted reactions one must purify the desired compounds. To purify a compound one must use the difference of chemical and physical properties. In this lab a analgesic pill is the start of the purification process. In total there are four main steps that are necessary in order to isolate the list of three drugs given. These three drugs are Ibuprofen, Naproxen, and Aspirin. Each pill has a set of impurities other than the drug itself. Those can be grouped into basic soluble fillers and acid soluble fillers. First the pill is crushed and brought into a powder. The next step is to dissolve the powder is a
This leads to the second school of thought on medically assisted treatment. There has been a great deal of debate about the medication used to treat Opiate addiction, methadone. Many feel that the drug methadone is simply trading one drug in for another, as the addiction to methadone is quick and almost more powerful than an opiate addiction (Nelson, 1994). The withdrawals effects are far more intense with methadone and for this reason it is a lifetime maintenance medication. Some suggest that more rehabilitative programs are needed that would address the social problems the users have to help them recover, instead of the methadone program that is viewed...
Don't let incarceration or death affect the life of you, or someone that you love. Understanding the horrific effects of methamphetamine can make a difference in life or death. According to T. Lopez (2014), at age eighteen she lost her father due to the impact that methamphetamine had on his heart and kidneys. Nevertheless, a few years later she and her husband became a victim of the awful cycle of addiction. Unfortunately, due to their addiction they became involved in criminal activity and found their selves jailed leaving behind their five children. Methamphetamine is a potent stimulant that affects the central nervous system (CNS). It is commonly called speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, crank, and glass. Meth is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystal-like powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol (Speed , 2011). It was created “from the drug amphetamine, and was originally used in nasal decongestants, bronchial inhalers, and the treatment of narcolepsy and obesity” (Treating Methamphetamine Addiction). Methamphetamine is considered to be “a Schedule II drug - a drug with little medical use and a high potential for abuse” (Treating Methamphetamine Addiction). Although it can be made in small secret laboratories with fairly inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients, “over 85% of methamphetamine is made in super labs in California and Mexico” (Meth Addiction Statistics, 2014). Methamphetamine abuse is a very serious addiction that affects a user’s mental and physical states while simultaneously destroying their lives; without managed treatment, misfortune is inevitable.
Based on the mechanism of action of opioid receptors drawn in figure 1, another viable alternative assay to understand the receptor activity could be [35S]GTPγS binding assay that monitors G-proteins activation by agonist stimulation. G-proteins is the upstream of cAMP and directly activated by opioid receptors. Activation of G-proteins will clearly indicate the stimulation of opioid receptors by an agonist.
Methamphetamine is said to have first made its appearance in the United States as early as World War II (Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper, & Dawud-Noursi, 2000). It was given to soldiers and pilots to increase their endurance as well as their attentiveness. Roughly two decades later, a liquid form of methamphetamine became available for the treatment of heroin addiction. It wasn’t until the 1990’s where it really began to be a problem. In trailer parks across Oregon, methamphetamine abuse was at an all-time high (Byker, 2011). By 2003, meth had begun spreading throughout the United States as the number of reports of meth labs increased from as far east as Florida.
In 1805, morphine and codeine were isolated from opium, and morphine served as a cure for opium addiction since its addictive characteristics were not known. Morphine’s use as a treatment for opium addiction was initially well received, as morphine has about ten times more euphoric effects than the equivalent amount of opium. Over the years, however, morphine abuse has increased. Heroin was synthesized from morphine in 1874 by an English chemist, but was not made commercially until 1898 by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company. Attempts were proposed to use heroin in place of morphine due to problems of morphine abuse.
When most people think about drug abuse they picture the typical image we have recieved from lessons in school or social media. We see horrifying pictures of vicitims who have become almost unrecoginzable after their drug usage, making us believe that we could never possibly reach that state they have came to. However, many do not understand the serious affects of drug abuse, specifically meth. Although it is typically not the most porpular drug in america, it is one of the most dangerous. It’s affects not only rapidly show physically but they leave users impaired for a continuous amount of time after. Although most do not directly come into contact with using meth it is also present in other drugs that contain amphetamines like adderall,