Morpheridine

Morpheridine

Clinical data
ATC code	none
Legal status
Legal status	AU: S9 (Prohibited) CA: Schedule I DE: Anlage I (Controlled) UK: Controlled Drug US: Schedule I UN: Psychotropic Schedule I
Identifiers
IUPAC name ethyl 1-(2-morpholin-4-ylethyl)-4-phenyl-piperidine-4-carboxylate
CAS Number	469-81-8 Y
PubChem CID	61121
ChemSpider	55069 Y
UNII	1854GKB41Y
ECHA InfoCard	100.006.749
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C20H30N2O3
Molar mass	346.46 g/mol
3D model (Jmol)	Interactive image
SMILES O=C(OCC)C3(c1ccccc1)CCN(CCN2CCOCC2)CC3
InChI InChI=1S/C20H30N2O3/c1-2-25-19(23)20(18-6-4-3-5-7-18)8-10-21(11-9-20)12-13-22-14-16-24-17-15-22/h3-7H,2,8-17H2,1H3 Y Key:JDEDMCKQPKGSAX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y

Morpheridine (Morpholinoethylnorpethidine) is a 4-phenylpiperidine derivative that is related to the opioid analgesic drug pethidine (meperidine). It is a strong analgesic with around 4 times the potency of pethidine, and unlike pethidine, does not cause convulsions, although it produces the standard opioid side effects such as sedation and respiratory depression.

Morpheridine is not currently used in medicine and is a Schedule I drug which is controlled under UN drug conventions.

The key intermediate, normeperidine, is obtained by a scheme closely akin to the parent molecule. Thus, alkylation of benzyl cyanide (1) with the tosyl analog of the bischloroethylamine (2) leads to the substituted piperidine (3). Basic hydrolysis serves to convert the nitrile to the acid (4). Treatment of this last with sulfuric acid in ethanol serves both to esterify the acid and to remove the tosyl group to yield the secondary amine (5).

Alkylation of that amine by means of N-(2-chloroethyl)morpholine gives morpheridine.