14-Phenylpropoxymetopon (PPOM) is an
opioid analogue that is a derivative of
metopon which has been substituted with a γ-phenylpropoxy group at the 14-position.[1] PPOM is a highly potent
analgesic drug several thousand times stronger than
morphine, with an even higher in vivo potency than
etorphine.[2] The 14-phenylpropoxy substitution appears to confer potent
μ-opioid agonist activity, even when combined with substitutions such as N-cyclopropyl or N-allyl, which normally result in μ-opioid antagonist compounds.[3]
It has never been used in humans, but would be expected to produce effects similar to those of other potent opioid agonists, including strong
analgesia,
sedation,
euphoria,
constipation,
itching and
respiratory depression which could be harmful or fatal. Tolerance and
dependence would be expected to develop rapidly based on the potency of the drug, as it is of a similar strength to the most potent of
fentanyl analogues and so would most likely cause pronounced
tachyphylaxis following repeated dosing.
^Schütz J, Spetea M, Koch M, Aceto MD, Harris LS, Coop A, Schmidhammer H (September 2003). "Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 20. 14-phenylpropoxymetopon: an extremely powerful analgesic". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 46 (19): 4182–7.
doi:
10.1021/jm030878b.
PMID12954070.
^Greiner E, Spetea M, Krassnig R, Schüllner F, Aceto M, Harris LS, et al. (April 2003). "Synthesis and biological evaluation of 14-alkoxymorphinans. 18. N-substituted 14-phenylpropyloxymorphinan-6-ones with unanticipated agonist properties: extending the scope of common structure-activity relationships". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 46 (9): 1758–63.
doi:
10.1021/jm021118o.
PMID12699394.