C22H28N2O - N-Phenyl-N-(1-2-phenylethyl-4-piperidyl) propanamide

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic narcotic (an opioid, actually) that is one of the most widely used painkillers for surgery. Like most narcotics, it can produce euphoria, and is a popular drug used illegally, especially by medical personnel, as they have less restricted access to it.

It is most often administered intravenously, but is also available in patch form under the name Duragesic.

In 2002 public attention world wide was focused on the drug as it (or one if its derivates) was used by Russian special forces during their attack, which ended the Moscow theatre siege. Over 150 people (including innocent hostages) were killed due to the large, knock-out dosage used.

Brief history and details

First synthesized in Belgium in the late 1950s, fentanyl, with an analgesic potency of about 80 times that of morphine, was introduced into medical practice in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic under the trade name of Sublimaze. Thereafter, two other fentanyl analogues were introduced, alfentanil (Alfenta), an ultra-short (5-10 minutes) acting analgesic, and sufentanil (Sufenta), an exceptionally potent analgesic (5 to 10 times more potent than fentanyl) for use in heart surgery. Today, fentanyls are extensively used for anesthesia and analgesia. Duragesic, for example, is a fentanyl transdermal patch used in chronic pain management, and Actiq is a solid formulation of fentanyl citrate on a stick that dissolves slowly in the mouth for transmucosal absorption. Actiq is intended for opiate-tolerant individuals and is effective in treating breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Carfentanil (Wildnil) is an analogue of fentanyl with an analgesic potency 10,000 times that of morphine and is used in veterinary practice to immobilize certain large animals.

Illicit use of pharmaceutical fentanyls first appeared in the mid-1970s in the medical community and continues to be a problem in the United States. To date, over 12 different analogues of fentanyl have been produced clandestinely and identified in the US drug traffic. The biological effects of the fentanyls are indistinguishable from those of heroin, with the exception that the fentanyls may be hundreds of times more potent. Fentanyls are most commonly used by intravenous administration, but like heroin, they may also be smoked or snorted.


Reference:
public domain source @ http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/fentanyl.html

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