AM-4030 is an analgesic

Analgesic

An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....

 drug which is a cannabinoid receptor agonist. It is a derivative of HU-210

HU-210

HU-210 is a synthetic cannabinoid that was first synthesized in 1988 from -Myrtenol by the group led by Professor Raphael Mechoulam at the Hebrew University. HU-210 is 100 to 800 times more potent than natural THC from cannabis and has an extended duration of action...

 which has been substituted with a 6β-((E)-3-hydroxyprop-1-enyl) group. This adds a "southern" aliphatic hydroxyl

Hydroxyl

A hydroxyl is a chemical group containing an oxygen atom covalently bonded with a hydrogen atom. In inorganic chemistry, the hydroxyl group is known as the hydroxide ion, and scientists and reference works generally use these different terms though they refer to the same chemical structure in...

 group to the molecule as seen in the CP- series of nonclassical cannabinoid drugs, and so AM-4030 represents a hybrid structure between the classical and nonclassical cannabinoid families, with the 6-hydroxyalkyl chain rigidified with a double bond

Double bond

A double bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two chemical elements involving four bonding electrons instead of the usual two. The most common double bond, that between two carbon atoms, can be found in alkenes. Many types of double bonds between two different elements exist, for example in...

 with defined stereochemistry

Stereochemistry

Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules. An important branch of stereochemistry is the study of chiral molecules....

. This gives AM-4030 a greater degree of selectivity, so while it is still a potent agonist at both CB₁ and CB₂, it is reasonably selective for CB₁, with a K_i

Dissociation constant

In chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology, a dissociation constant is a specific type of equilibrium constant that measures the propensity of a larger object to separate reversibly into smaller components, as when a complex falls apart into its component molecules, or when a salt splits up into...

 of 0.7nM at CB₁ and 8.6nM at CB₂, a selectivity of around 12x. Resolution of the enantiomers of AM-4030 yields an even more potent compound, although with less selectivity, with the (-) enantiomer AM-4030a having a K_i of 0.6nM at CB₁ and 1.1nM at CB₂.