Dexamphetamine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A synthetic stimulant medication used to treat attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy by increasing alertness and activity in the brain
2. A prescription drug, the dextro isomer of amphetamine, that boosts wakefulness and focus and is used for attention disorders and sleep conditions
3. A powerful central nervous system stimulant chemically related to amphetamine, prescribed to manage hyperactivity, inattention and excessive daytime sleepiness

Etymology: Dexamphetamine is a compound of "dex-", a shortened form of "dextro-" meaning "right-handed" or "on the right" in chemistry, and "amphetamine". The prefix matters because amphetamine has a chiral carbon atom, so it exists as two mirror-image molecules, and the "dextro" form (the one that rotates polarised light to the right) is the more potent of the pair. Naming the drug this way marks it as the single-handed version of the racemic mixture rather than the whole compound. Amphetamine itself was first synthesised in 1887 by the Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu, and the word "amphetamine" was coined from elements of its chemical name, "alpha-methylphenethylamine". The "dex-" form was then separated and named as its own substance, so the word records a chemist's naming convention rather than a story about the drug's discovery. The shortened prefix "dex-" follows the same pattern used in other stereoisomer names, such as dextrose for glucose.

Synonyms: dextroamphetamine