MDMA synthesis in 3 steps & how it could help PTSD therapy (educational) | Chemistry & Science

🧠 Did you know that MDMA-assisted therapy was recently suggested to be highly effective for people with severe PTSD? In this video, we will break down MDMA's history and discovery, synthetic approaches from the literature - including a kilo-scale process route - and clinical data from a Phase 3 study investigating MDMA's therapeutic benefit. https://total-synthesis.com/organic-c... 🧑‍🎓➡️ Free organic chemistry practice problems   / totalsynthesis_official   👉 Follow me on Instagram to follow updates on other random chemistry research and interesting news! https://total-synthesis.com/ Note, some slides spell safrole as saffrole Please drop a like and comment to support the video's visibility, activate notifications and subscribe to the channel so you do not miss future videos 00:00 MDMA might have valuable therapeutic potential 00:37 Uncontrolled drug use is dangerous!!! 00:53 History and discovery of MDMA 02:26 Organic synthesis and chemical reactions: Safrole, piperonal, GMP synthesis 05:43 PTSD burden of disease and unmet need 07:08 Clinical trial design and results 09:48 Short-term MDMA safety seems acceptable - still, long-term or regular use is discouraged! 10:53 Outlook on potential FDA approval Disclaimer - This channel does not provide medical advice! No information on this channel is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of information on Youtube. Key references: Fully Validated, Multi-Kilogram cGMP Synthesis of MDMA (ACS Omega 2022, 7, 900−907) MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study (Nature Medicine 2021, 27, 1025) The origin of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) – separating the facts from the myth (Die Pharmazie 2006, 61, 966) Recommended organic chemistry books: Winter; Organic Chemistry I For Dummies (start here if you are absolutely friggin clueless) | https://amzn.to/4fmF97q Clayden, Greeves, Warren; Organic Chemistry (basic organic chemistry knowledge) | https://amzn.to/4ul57ft Wyatt, Warren; Organic Synthesis: The Disconnection Approach (excellent introduction to retrosynthesis) | https://amzn.to/4fmF97q | https://amzn.to/3Q529xn Kurti, Czako; Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis (extensive toolkit of functional group reactions and applications thereof with common conditions) | https://amzn.to/43cbzKH Grossmann; The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms (building intuition for intermediate and advanced reaction mechanisms) | https://amzn.to/4dOiIXA Nicolaou; Classics in Total Synthesis 1-4 (simply legendary series) | https://amzn.to/4o986pz | https://amzn.to/3ROsRLp | https://amzn.to/3S4vCYV | https://amzn.to/4dPI9YL Nicolaou; Molecules That Changed the World (the world's most important molecules and their impact on everyday life) | https://amzn.to/4odZwWW Carreira, Kvaerno; Classics in Stereoselective Synthesis (compilation of the groundbreaking methods of stereoselective synthesis and application to synthesis of stereochemically complex structures) | https://amzn.to/4dZk9kH Anslyn; Modern Physical Organic Chemistry (almost anything you will need for (organic) physical chemistry) | https://amzn.to/4gwOZUL