Posted by Larry Hoover on May 10, 2008, at 20:39:05
In reply to Re: modafinil and armodafinil, how do they differ? » undopaminergic, posted by cactus on May 10, 2008, at 19:33:31
> Put it this way, is it like citalopram v's escitalopram. I know citalopram is weaker in concentration because it's slightly different.
It's better said that citalopram is the combination of two almost identical molecules, only one of which is active. The two forms are arbitrarily (according to set rules, mind) called R- and S- structures, simply to differentiate them. We've discovered that the S- form of citalopram is the active one, and the R- form can be thought of as diluting the active form. There's more to it, but that's the gist.
Consider someone with only one hand. They might have to buy pairs of gloves to get the one that they need. The other is of no use. When chemists synthesize molecules, random events occur that make R- and S- structures form. To use the glove analogy, we know how to synthesize gloves, but we have an equal chance of making left (S) and right (R) gloves. With a little extra work, we can separate them, and that's what's done with drugs like escitalopram being isolated from the blended citalopram, and armodafanil, which is isolated from the mixture of R-modafanil and S-modafanil that is sold as Modafanil.
> Which is the weaker between modafinil and armodafinil?
Modafanil is 'weaker', or at least, less specific. S-modafanil might do different things than R-modafanil, as opposed to simply being inactive. But modafanil is the weaker drug.
> You're obviously well read/educated in chemistry and I'm not, could you explain it in a different way? The shiny objects caught my attention again and it was all too much to take in, or are you telling me that modafinil is the patent extender, which I do understand because that would explain the price.
>
> Thanks CArmodafanil is the patent extender, as it will be protected until the year 2023.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:828224
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080510/msgs/828394.html