New 4-(heteroanilido)piperidines, structurally related to the pure opioid agonist fentanyl, with agonist and/or antagonist properties.

A research program based on certain heterocyclic modifications (12-50) of the fentanyl (1) molecule has generated a novel class of opioids. In the mouse hot-plate test, these compounds were weaker analgesics than 1. Two types of antagonists were observed in morphine-treated rabbits: those (e.g., 28) that reversed both respiratory depression and analgesia and those (e.g. 32) that selectively reversed respiratory depression. Evaluation of in vitro binding affinities to rat brain opioid receptors was inconclusive for a common locus of action for the agonist as well as the antagonist component. Further pharmacological evaluation of 32, N-(2-pyrazinyl)-N-(1-phenethyl-4-piperidinyl)-2-furamide, in the rat showed it to be a potent analgesic (ED50 = 0.07 mg/kg, tail-flick test) with little cardiovascular and respiratory depression when compared to fentanyl.