Lysergic acid 2,4-dimethylazetidide (LA-SS-Az, LSZ) is an analog of LSD developed by the team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University.[2][3] It was developed as a rigid analog of LSD with the diethylamide group constrained into an azetidine ring in order to map the binding site at the 5-HT2Areceptor. There are three possible stereoisomers around the azetidine ring, with the (S,S)-(+) isomer being the most active, slightly more potent than LSD itself in drug discrimination tests using trained rats.[4]
There have been several unconfirmed reports of lysergic acid 2,4-dimethylazetidide being synthesized in illicit laboratories and distributed on blotter paper or in liquid solution under names such as "diazedine" and "λ".[5][6]
In 2013 LSZ also appeared on some designer drug and research chemical markets in the UK.[7] LSZ later gained international popularity through a small cluster of mail-order novel psychedelic shops that appeared in 2012.[8]
^Nichols DE, Frescas S, Marona-Lewicka D, Kurrasch-Orbaugh DM (September 2002). "Lysergamides of isomeric 2,4-dimethylazetidines map the binding orientation of the diethylamide moiety in the potent hallucinogenic agent N,N-diethyllysergamide (LSD)". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 45 (19): 4344–4349. doi:10.1021/jm020153s. PMID12213075.