Amphetamine, or 1-phenyl-2-aminopropane, was first synthesized in 1887 by Romanian chemist L. Edeleanu. It is a central nervous system stimulant and the parent compound of a family of widely used (and abused) psychoactive drugs. It is sold under many trade names—Benzedrine, Dexedrine, and Adderall are the most prominent—and as the racemic mixture or either of its two optical isomers. The D-isomer is shown.
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