Hello, I am Fentanyl, my chemical formula is C22H28N2O, and I am a lipid!

(N2O, not N20)

Insys Therapeutics Inc. in Arizona makes me to treat sudden episodes of pain in cancer patients over the age of 18 who are tolerant to other narcotics.

I was made to be a stronger and faster working drug. I am 80-100 times more potent than morphine, and 30-50 times more potent than heroin!

First of all, let me show you how I was "born"!

*mEmOrIes*

*Memories*

*memories*

*mEMorIEs*

I was first bioengineered in 1960 by doctors to find a strong opioid from the drug meperidine.

Originally, I was called Sublimaze as fentanyl citrate which was in patch form rather than in pill form like I am now.

My first memory:

"OK, so the N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl]aniline was dissolved in methylene chloride (40 mL) in a 100 mL round bottom flask equipped with a small stir bar and was treated with diisopropylethylamine. The solution was cooled with an ice bath and treated dropwise with propionyl chloride. The resulting mixture was stirred for 2 h at ambient temperature. The mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and partitioned. The organic phase was washed with brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and evaporated in vacuo at 40°C to give a yellow oil that was purified by flash column chromatography to furnish fentanyl as a light yellow oil. Did you write all that down?”

Goo goo gaa gaa!

Fun Fact: Because N-Phenethyl-4-piperidinone (NPP) can be used illegally to create me, it was placed onto the list of controlled chemicals in the USA in 2007, and possession and sales of this compound are now restricted.

Next, let me show you my job in the central nervous system!

This is where I work: my "office" is near the Axon Terminal, in the receptors of the next cell, and my "co-workers" are neurotransmitters! They perform the same job as me, but they are naturally produced by the body.