A new class of potent central nervous system depressants

Abstract

Although the first 2-amino-2-oxazolines (pseudoureas) were synthesized over fifty years ago, compounds containing that grouping have until now received only cursory pharmacological examination. We now wish to report the synthesis, in the course of a systematic search for new psychotherapeutic agents, of the previously unknown 2-(1-naphthylamino)-2-oxazoline (I). This compound represents a new structural type of central nervous system depressant, which displays a unique pharmacological profile. © 1957, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.