5F-ADBICA
Fluorinated indole carboxamide with a tert-leucinamide chain, a high-potency agonist, a narcotic in France by generic clause.
Harm-reduction warning
No characterised human dose: animal / in vitro data only. Effect profile, safety margin and acute toxicity are not documented in human clinical practice. Extremely potent compound: severe effects, seizures and deaths reported in the literature.
C₂₀H₂₈FN₃O₂
CAS 1801338-27-1
- Family
- Synthetic CB receptor agonistNew psychoactive substance
- Molar mass
- 361.50 g/mol
Updated on
In plain terms
5F-ADBICA is a synthetic cannabinoid made in a laboratory. It does not exist in hemp and has nothing to do with cannabidiol. In laboratory assays it belongs to a series of compounds that act very strongly on the cannabinoid receptors, and it falls under the narcotics list in France by way of a chemical-family clause.
Receptors and activity
Target network
- Activates
The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to 5F-ADBICA: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.
Where these targets live
Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of 5F-ADBICA.
CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body
- Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
- CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
- HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
- AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
- CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
- Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
- GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4
Map sources
- Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
- Glass M et al. Cannabinoid receptors in the human brain: a detailed anatomical and quantitative autoradiographic study in the fetal, neonatal and adult human brain. Neuroscience, 1997 (new tab)
- Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
- Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)
Cited values
- CB1Agonistno measured value cited
High-potency agonist at CB1; the series measured ranges from 0.24 to 21 nM in a fluorometric membrane potential assay, with no individual value found for this compound (Banister et al. 2015)
- CB2Agonistno measured value cited
High-potency agonist at CB2; the series measured ranges from 0.88 to 15 nM, with no individual value found for this compound (Banister et al. 2015)
Pharmacology
5F-ADBICA belongs to the series that Banister et al. characterised in 2015: indole and indazole carboxamides that were arriving in growing numbers in forensic laboratories, associated with serious adverse effects, and mostly unprecedented in the literature. All the compounds synthesised proved to be high-potency agonists (EC50 from 0.24 to 21 nM at CB1 and from 0.88 to 15 nM at CB2); no individual value is reported here for 5F-ADBICA, as the abstract gives only the ranges of the series. The molecule is the fluorinated analogue of ADBICA and the indole analogue of 5F-ADB-PINACA. In human liver microsomes (24 h) and in zebrafish, Li et al. (2026) identified 28 metabolites of 5F-ADBICA against 21 for 5F-ADB-PINACA, the first description of 5F-ADBICA metabolism, and propose hydrolytic defluorination (M19) as a potential biomarker. In France, the indazole analogue is listed by name in annex IV, whereas this compound falls there only under the generic clause for indole-3-carboxamide derivatives. No controlled study in human beings was found.
Key sources.
- Banister SD, Moir M, Stuart J, Kevin RC, Wood KE, Longworth M, Wilkinson SM, Beinat C, Buchanan AS, Glass M, Connor M, McGregor IS, Kassiou M. Pharmacology of Indole and Indazole Synthetic Cannabinoid Designer Drugs AB-FUBINACA, ADB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, ADB-PINACA, 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-ADB-PINACA, ADBICA, and 5F-ADBICA. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015;6(9):1546-1559 (new tab)PMID 26134475
- Li H, Zheng H, Zhong S, Zhao Y, Lin J, Su H. Study on Phase I Metabolic Processes and Metabolite Biomarker Identification of Synthetic Cannabinoids 5F-ADB-PINACA and 5F-ADBICA in Human Liver Microsomes and Zebrafish Model. Molecules. 2026;31(2) (new tab)PMID 41599300
- Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA, consolidated version of 12.01.2026 (annex: substances subject to Union control) (new tab)
History
- Source
- A wholly synthetic molecule, absent from hemp and from every living organism. It is one of the indole and indazole carboxamides with a valinamide or tert-leucinamide side chain that forensic laboratories were meeting with increasing frequency, associated with serious adverse effects, although most were unprecedented in the scientific literature at the time of their discovery (Banister et al. 2015). None of this has anything to do with hemp or with cannabidiol products.
Origin
Laboratory synthesis
No known biosynthetic pathway: the molecule is produced by no plant and no living organism. It is entirely synthetic in origin and belongs to the chemical family of the tert-leucinamide-headed indole-3-carboxamides.
Legal framework
- European Union
It does not appear in the annex to Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA (consolidated version of 12 January 2026), which names only five synthetic cannabinoid agonists: MDMB-CHMICA, ADB-CHMINACA, CUMYL-4CN-BINACA, MDMB-4en-PINACA and 4F-MDMB-BICA. Nor does it appear in annex III of the consolidated ANSM list (tables I and II of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances).
- France
A narcotic in France by generic clause, not by name: the consolidated ANSM list (updated 16 February 2026) does not cite 5F-ADBICA. Its annex IV covers any molecule of the family of indole-3-carboxamide derivatives bearing on the indole nitrogen a substituent of the alkyl, haloalkyl, halobenzyl or related type and, on the nitrogen of the carboxamide bridge, a 1-alkoxy-1-oxo-butan-2-yl or 1-amino-1-oxo-butan-2-yl group, substituted or not in position 3 by one or two alkyl, cycloalkyl or phenyl substituents. Literal reading: 5F-ADBICA bears a 5-fluoropentyl chain (haloalkyl) on the indole nitrogen and a 1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl group (a 1-amino-1-oxo-butan-2-yl disubstituted in position 3) on the amide nitrogen. The indazole-core analogue, 5F-ADB-PINACA, is listed by name. Characterisation by generic clause remains more fragile before a court than a listing by name.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Classification
Family, origin and source verification
- Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonist › New psychoactive substance
- Class
indole-3-carboxamide
- Verification
Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia (English)
No dedicated article.
References
- Banister SD, Moir M, Stuart J, Kevin RC, Wood KE, Longworth M, Wilkinson SM, Beinat C, Buchanan AS, Glass M, Connor M, McGregor IS, Kassiou M. Pharmacology of Indole and Indazole Synthetic Cannabinoid Designer Drugs AB-FUBINACA, ADB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, ADB-PINACA, 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-ADB-PINACA, ADBICA, and 5F-ADBICA. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015;6(9):1546-1559 (new tab)PMID 26134475
- Li H, Zheng H, Zhong S, Zhao Y, Lin J, Su H. Study on Phase I Metabolic Processes and Metabolite Biomarker Identification of Synthetic Cannabinoids 5F-ADB-PINACA and 5F-ADBICA in Human Liver Microsomes and Zebrafish Model. Molecules. 2026;31(2) (new tab)PMID 41599300
- Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA, consolidated version of 12.01.2026 (annex: substances subject to Union control) (new tab)
Identifiers
Names
- IUPAC name
- N-[(2S)-1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl]-1-(5-fluoropentyl)indole-3-carboxamide
- Other names
- 5-Fluoro-ADBICA
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₀H₂₈FN₃O₂
- CAS
- 1801338-27-1
- PubChem CID
- 118796421(new tab)
- InChIKey
- ITZSOCZDFSHNCL-QGZVFWFLSA-N
- SMILES
- CC(C)
(C) [C@@H] (C(= O) N) NC(= O) C1= CN(C2= CC= CC= C21) CCCCCF
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.