I read that Doxapram is a respiratory stimulant without any effect on analgesia. Towards constructing a harm minimized opiate pill, I think that a pill, which even if misused, that sustains respiration would save lives.
So make a version of Doxapram with a molecule that disintegrates on digestion yet is fully functional if injected or snorted. Respiration is sustained which reduces the risk of death. If the pills are taken as directed, the respiratory drug is without effect though, and thus is harmless.
Amazingly, the numbers on unintentional death from opiates are pretty notable. I think there is a rapid technological solution to prevent the deaths.-- beanangel, Dec 06 2016 Doxapram https://www.ncbi.nl....gov/pubmed/6994518 [beanangel, Dec 06 2016] That is interesting. Maybe doable. It would add to pill expense.-- bungston, Dec 06 2016 // the numbers on unintentional death from opiates are pretty notable//
A large part of this is a legal requirement to package Tylenol with a popular opiate to make it MORE dangerous. Thank your local Republican, who would rather see you die than high.-- Voice, Dec 06 2016 I think I read at a CDC website that there are 18,000 deaths from prescription opiates (not sure of the proportion that are injected) whereas the fatlities from cars are near 20,000
so the breath supporting injection yet harmless at pills chemical might be almost as big as removing all traffic deaths. If it works.-- beanangel, Dec 07 2016 Doxapram could be unsaturated (C=C) at that middle methyl ish thing, although this would remove a benzene, the drug effect might still work, either that or replacing the distal ethyl thing with C=C near the nitrogen: Either way, HCl + C=C causes the molecule to disintegrate.-- beanangel, Dec 07 2016 From memory, I was at a talk by some chap* who foolishly tried to compete with pizza for my attention. Anyhow, he was going on about the development of a pro-drug version of opiate derivatives. That's a good strategy that works nicely for a lot of drugs, especially those with abuse potential. Lysine conjugated dexamphetamine is an excellent example, it doesn't matter if you crush that up and inject it. If you were to go one step further, you could make a stomach acid/digestive enzyme activated pro-drug. A Pro-pro- drug if you will. Then you make it a whole lot more difficult to abuse.
*can't remember the name, was a pharma company talk so I was there for the enhanced lunching opportunities.-- bs0u0155, Dec 08 2016 (obligatory quote every time something like this comes up)
Tyrell: The facts of life. To make an alteration in the evolvment of an organic life system is fatal. A coding sequence cannot be revised once it's been established. Roy: Why not? Tyrell: Because by the second day of incubation, any cells that have undergone reversion mutations give rise to revertant colonies like rats leaving a sinking ship. Then the ship sinks. Roy: What about EMS recombination? Tyrell: We've already tried it. Ethyl methane sulfonate as an alkylating agent a potent mutagen It created a virus so lethal the subject was dead before he left the table. Roy: Then a repressive protein that blocks the operating cells - Tyrell: Wouldn't obstruct replication, but it does give rise to an error in replication so that the newly formed DNA strand carries the mutation and you've got a virus again. But, uh, this-- all of this is academic. You were made as well as we could make you.
There - got that out of the way for today ...-- normzone, Dec 08 2016 Wow I just read they allocated $1 billion for opiate drug research I think they could make the new chemicals and see if it works on rodents for $100K-- beanangel, Dec 08 2016 random, halfbakery