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Simon D Brandt

School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.

28 papers in the library · 790 citations · publishing 2008-2026

Papers

In Vivo and In Vitro Metabolic Fate and Urinary Detectability of Five Deschloroketamine Derivatives Studied by Means of Hyphenated Mass Spectrometry.

Metabolites May 8, 2024 Fabian Frankenfeld, Lea Wagmann, Anush Abelian et al. 3 citations

Five deschloroketamine derivatives—deschloro-N-cyclopropyl-ketamine, deschloro-N-ethyl-ketamine, deschloro-N-isopropyl-ketamine, deschloro-N-propyl-ketamine, and deschloroketamine—are primarily metabolized through N-dealkylation, hydroxylation, multiple oxidations, and combinations, plus glucuronidation and N-acetylation. In total, 29 phase I and 10 phase II metabolites were detected in rat urine after a 2 mg/kg body weight dose, using liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. For the LC-HRMS/MS standard urine screening approach, compound-specific metabolites were identified and confirmed in pooled human liver microsomes for all derivatives except deschloro-N-cyclopropyl-ketamine. The GC-MS approach detected only non-specific acetylated N-dealkylation metabolites.

In vivo and in vitro toxicokinetics including metabolism, isozyme mapping, and monoamine oxidase inhibition of three (2-aminopropyl)benzo[b]thiophene (APBT) psychedelics.

Toxicology March 1, 2026 Lea Wagmann, Simon D Brandt, Pierce V Kavanagh et al.

Three recently identified psychedelics and entactogens—3-APBT, 5-APBT, and 6-APBT—activate serotonin 2 receptor subtypes and cause head-twitch responses in mice. Their toxicokinetics, metabolism, and monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition were characterized using liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Metabolites were identified in urine from male Wistar rats over 24 hours after oral administration (2 mg/kg) and in incubations with pooled human liver S9 fraction (25 µM). Hydroxylation, primarily catalyzed by CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and CYP3A5, was the main phase I biotransformation; phase II reactions included N-acetylation, glucuronidation, and sulfation. All three isomers strongly inhibited MAO-A (IC50: 5-APBT 0.4 µM, 6-APBT 0.6 µM, 3-APBT 4 µM) but only weakly inhibited MAO-B (IC50 23-49 µM). Clinically relevant MAO-A inhibition and associated interaction risks cannot be excluded.

Bioisosteric analogs of MDMA with improved pharmacological profile.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology April 11, 2024 Ana Sofia Alberto-Silva, Selina Hemmer, Hailey A Bock et al. preprint

Three new chemical variants of MDMA—ODMA, TDMA, and SeDMA—show similar activity at serotonin and dopamine transporters but reduced activity at serotonin 5-HT2A/2B/2C receptors, which may lower the risk of off-target side effects. They also differ from MDMA in how they are broken down by the liver, with fewer metabolic pathways and no phase II metabolites. The analogs interact more weakly with certain organic cation transporters. These findings suggest the new compounds could be promising therapeutic alternatives to MDMA for conditions like PTSD, though further research is needed to confirm whether they pose lower risks.