5-IAI
5-Iodo-2-aminoindane is an entactogen drug of the 2-aminoindane family. Human anecdotal reports suggest that it is entactogenic but produces little euphoria or stimulation.
The drug acts as a releasing agent of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. It produces much less serotonergic neurotoxicity than MDMA in animals.
5-IAI was developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It was encountered as a novel recreational designer drug in 2010, but never gained widespread popularity.
Use and effects
The human dosage of 5-IAI has been described as 100 to 200mg and its duration of action as 2 to 4hours. Human anecdotal reports suggest that 5-IAI is entactogenic and that it increases sociability and trust. On the other hand, it is reported that 5-IAI produces very little euphoria and is far less stimulating than MDMA and other amphetamines. Relatedly, 2-aminoindanes like 5-IAI never gained widespread popularity as recreational drugs, probably due to their relative lack of euphoria.Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Similarly to MDMA, 5-IAI acts as a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent. Its values for induction of monoamine release have not been reported. In any case, its relative potency for monoamine release is serotonin > dopamine > norepinephrine. In addition, 5-IAI's affinity values for the monoamine transporters are 879nM for the serotonin transporter, 311nM for the norepinephrine transporter, and 992nM for the dopamine transporter, whereas its values in terms of functional inhibition have been reported to be 241nM or 2,500nM at the SERT, 612nM or 760nM at the NET, and 992nM or 2,300nM at the DAT in two different respective studies.In addition to its interactions with the monoamine transporters, 5-IAI shows high affinity for the serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C receptors, as well as affinity for the α2A-, α2B-, and α2C-adrenergic receptors. The high affinity for the serotonin receptors is in contrast to MDAI.
5-IAI and MDAI fully substitute for MDMA in drug discrimination tests in rodents. This suggests that they produce MDMA-like subjective and entactogenic effects in rodents.
Unlike related 2-aminoindane derivatives like MDAI and MMAI, 5-IAI causes some serotonergic neurotoxicity in rats, but is less neurotoxic than its corresponding amphetamine homologue para-iodoamphetamine and the doses employed have been described as "extremely high". In any case, regular high-dose 5-IAI has been found to produce cognitive and memory deficits in rodents.