Alfentanil (Molecule of the Month for July 2007)
Alfenta
Alfentanil (trade name) is a parenteral short-acting synthetic opioid analgesic drug, used for anaesthesia in surgery. Alfentanil was discovered at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1976.
Alfentanil is useful for: short operative analgesia, e.g. outpatient and day surger; enhancement of general anaesthesia; suppression of spontaneous respiration in patients on assisted ventilation; cardiovascular surgery; it disrupts this system relatively little.
The key side effect is that of severe respiratory depression.
Formal Chemical Name (IUPAC)
N-(1-(2-(4-ethyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-tetrazol-1-yl)ethyl)-4-(methoxymethyl)piperidin-4-yl)-N-phenylpropanamide
References
Update by Karl Harrison
(Molecule of the Month for
July 2007
)
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