What if there was a substance that could help us better understand consciousness, treat mental health conditions — and yet it remains at the fringes of regulatory approval? DOI the drug (2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine) is one such psychedelic, intriguing scientists and sparking debate across research and regulatory authorities alike.
We at Enthereal thought we’d take this opportunity to begin to collect basics you need to know related to DOI, and explain where it fits into the vast world of emerging therapeutics.
Molecular Features of DOI the drug
For one, DOI has molecular features similar to amphetamine-like molecules and 2Cs.
2Cs are talked about more here.
For the less familar, let’s highlight a few things:
- methoxy => an oxygen atom with a methyl group hence methyl + oxygen = methoxy
- amphetamine-like is a particular subset of phenethylamine molecules
- Amphetamine-like molecules are PEAs that have an extra methyl at the carbon that’s adjacent to the amine: in chemist-speak, we say it’s “alpha” to the nitrogen or amine
- We’d need a whole book to explore all the phenethylamines; conveniently, Shasha Shulgin did that for us with PiHKAL, though let’s unpack what’s in a name a little more
Phenethylamines
Phenethylamines (often abbreviated as PEAs) span a huge number of compounds, including arguably everything from epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenalin), amphetamine-like molecules, and even dopamine, one of the most simple phenethylamines. What makes a phenethylamine?
The most simple phenethylamine is…phenethylamine!
What’s in a name is a good place to start:
- There’s a phenyl ring — the six-carbon ring that looks like a hexagon with its “aromatic” 1.5 bond order covalent bonds which makes it flat — hence the phen– — here the dotted lines indicate its aromaticity
- Then there’s the ethyl — 2-carbons acting like a linker — with two hydrogens colored as silver here, too
- The, there’s finally a nitrogen in blue — nitrogen in chemistry with single bonds is known as an amine
There you have it: phen + ethyl + amine = phenethylamines. These compounds just happen to have similarities to the catecholamines because catecholamines, as mentioned above, are phenethylamines. You could say catecholamines are biologically-native PEAs.
Catecholamines include
- dopamine,
- epinephrine (adrenaline), and
- norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
Though DOI is not a catecholamine, DOI the drug is a phenethylamine, which is why we explained it all there.
Back to DOI
In our recent feature, we delved into what makes DOI unique—from its early beginnings to the latest research highlighting its potential in therapeutic settings.
But DOI isn’t just another psychedelic; it sits at the nexus of promising breakthroughs and regulatory challenges that reflect the challenges of substances like it that might someday enter mainstream treatment, if the DEA doesn’t stop most efforts to use it in research.
Stay tuned to uncover how DOI might play a role in the future of mental health and consciousness research.
And, by the way, Enthereal holds IP on sustainable methods for generating phenethylamines, including DOI, DOC, and many others.
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