6-APB

6-APB

Clinical data
ATC code	none
Legal status
Legal status	CA: Schedule III DE: Anlage II (Prohibited) UK: Class B
Identifiers
IUPAC name 1-(1-Benzofuran-6-yl)propan-2-amine
CAS Number	286834-85-3 N
PubChem CID	9794343
ChemSpider	7970110 Y
UNII	285VE60914
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C11H13NO
Molar mass	175.23 g/mol
3D model (Jmol)	Interactive image
SMILES NC(C)CC1=CC(OC=C2)=C2C=C1
InChI InChI=1S/C11H13NO/c1-8(12)6-9-2-3-10-4-5-13-11(10)7-9/h2-5,7-8H,6,12H2,1H3 Y Key:FQDAMYLMQQKPRX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y
NY (what is this?)

6-APB (6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran) is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the substituted benzofuran, substituted amphetamine and substituted phenethylamine classes. 6-APB and are sometimes informally called "Benzofury" in newspaper reports. It is similar in structure to MDA, but differs in that the 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl ring system has been replaced with a benzofuran ring. 6-APB is also the unsaturated benzofuran derivative of 6-APDB. It may appear as a tan grainy powder. 6-APB was first synthesized by David Nichols and his team in 1993 while studying non-neurotoxic analogs of MDMA.

While the drug never became particularly popular, it briefly entered the rave and underground clubbing scene in the UK before its sale and import were banned. It falls under the category of research chemicals, sometimes called "legal highs." Because 6-APB and other substituted benzofurans have not been explicitly outlawed in some countries, they are often technically legal, contributing to their popularity.

6-APB is a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SNDRI) with K_i values of 117, 150, and 2698 nM for the norepinephrine transporter (NET), dopamine transporter (DAT), and serotonin transporter (SERT), respectively. In addition, 6-APB not only blocks the reuptake of these monoamine neurotransmitters but is also a releasing agent of them; that is, it is a serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA). In addition to actions at the monoamine transporters, 6-APB is a potent full agonist of the serotonin 5-HT_2B receptor (K_i = 3.7 nM), with higher affinity for this target than any other site. Moreover, unlike MDMA, 6-APB shows 100-fold selectivity for the 5-HT_2B receptor over the 5-HT_2A and 5-HT_2C receptors. It is notably both more potent and more selective as an agonist of the 5-HT_2B receptor than the reference 5-HT_2B receptor agonist, BW-723C86, which is commonly used for research into the 5-HT_2B receptor. Aside from the 5-HT_2B receptor, 6-APB has also been found to bind with high affinity to the α_2C-adrenergic receptor subtype (K_i = 45 nM), although the clinical significance of this action is unknown. 6-APB showed little other affinity at a wide selection of other sites.