Pentedrone

pentedrone (also known as drone) is a lesser-known novel stimulant substance of the cathinone class. pentedrone belongs to a group of compounds known as substituted cathinones. pentedrone acts as a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (ndri).

pentedrone was first detected being sold online in 2010. it is an example of a contemporary designer drug specifically chosen to mimic and/or replace the effects of street drugs like cocaine, mdma, or methamphetamine. pentedrone and similar compounds are sometimes referred to as “bath salts”.

pentedrone is known to come in the form of either a white powder or crystallized shards which users can ingest to produce a powerful, fast-acting but short-lived euphoric stimulant effects which are comparable to those of crack-cocaine, n-ethylpentedrone and a-pvp-type compounds, particularly when they are insufflated, vaporized or injected. starting with the advent of mdpv, research chemical stimulants like pentedrone have gained notoriety for its tendency to induce compulsive redosing and addictive behaviors in a seemingly significant percentage of its users as well the ability to readily induce paranoid, delusional states and stimulant psychosis when abused.

little data exists about the toxicity and abuse potential of pentedrone in humans. due to its novelty and brief history of human usage, all information related to this compound should be treated with extreme caution. it is strongly recommended that one use harm reduction practices if using this substance.

chemistry

pentedrone is a a molecule of the substituted cathinone chemical class. substituted cathinones refer to a class of molecules which are principally constituted of a phenethylamine core with an alkyl group attached to the alpha carbon and an oxygen group attached to the beta carbon. they are also known as the beta-ketone (double-bonded oxygen to the β-carbon) analogs of amphetamines. pentedrone is the a-pentyl beta-keto analog of methamphetamine.

of general note, the cathinone backbone can be modified in three different places to create hundreds of possible compounds, which include substituents on the aromatic ring, the alpha carbon, and the amine group.

pharmacology

due to the lack of research regarding the substance, all proceeding discussion regarding the pharmacology of this compound derives from speculation based upon its structure and subjective effect similarities to other cathinones and related molecules, such as prolintane, a-pvp, a-php and analogs like n-ethyl-(nor)-pentedrone (i.e. nep).

unlike many other substituted cathinones, which display both reuptake-inhibition and releasing agent properties, pentedrone has been shown to act as a pure reuptake inhibitor for the major catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, with very modest activity on serotonin. this renders its pharmacological activity similar to that of methylphenidate, cocaine or mdpv (although the latter two possess heavy additional serotonergic activity. these pure uptake inhibitors likely do not enter the intracellular space of the synapse via the transporter, which may be associated with less intracellular pharmacological effects and toxicity compared with substrate-type releasersthis enables the endogenous neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine to accumulate within various synaptic regions in the brain, resulting in stimulating and euphoric effects.

notably, the addition of an ethyl group to the terminal amine (-nh2) group of the pentedrone molecule seems to increase its potency significantly, as is observed with its successor analog n-ethyl-(nor)-pentedrone (i.e. nep) which is viewed as having preferential recreational properties.