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Synthetic

CUMYL-4CN-BINACA

A very potent, pro-convulsant synthetic cannabinoid whose metabolism releases cyanide.

Narcotic: named in schedule
Level of detail

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.

C₂₂H₂₄N₄O

CAS 1631074-54-8

Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonistNew psychoactive substance
Molar mass
360.50 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

CUMYL-4CN-BINACA is a synthetic cannabinoid made in the laboratory, with no link to hemp or to CBD. It has been seized as powder or herbal material, in smoking mixtures sold without any mention of their composition. It acts at a very low dose on the cannabinoid receptors and, in mice, it triggers convulsions. Eleven deaths were reported by two Member States of the European Union, according to the 2018 European decision.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB1AgonistEC50 = 0.6 nM · humanGIRK activation (membrane potential), AtT20 human CB1 cells
  • Activates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to CUMYL-4CN-BINACA: 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 CUMYL-4CN-BINACA.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body

  1. Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
  2. CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
  3. HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
  4. AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
  5. CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
  6. Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
  7. GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4

Map sources

  1. Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
  2. 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)
  3. Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
  4. Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. CB1AgonistKi = 2.6 nM · human76 out of 100

    Kevin et al. 2019, Front Pharmacol (new tab) · [3H]CP 55,940 displacement, human CB1

  2. CB1AgonistEC50 = 0.6 nM · human87 out of 100

    Kevin et al. 2019, Front Pharmacol (new tab) · GIRK activation (membrane potential), AtT20 human CB1 cells

  3. CB2AgonistKi = 14.7 nM · human64 out of 100

    Kevin et al. 2019, Front Pharmacol (new tab) · [3H]CP 55,940 displacement, human CB2

  4. CB2AgonistEC50 = 6.1 nM · human70 out of 100

    Kevin et al. 2019, Front Pharmacol (new tab) · GIRK activation (membrane potential), AtT20 human CB2 cells

Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Pharmacology

CUMYL-4CN-BINACA is an indazole-3-carboxamide with a cumyl head, recognisable by its side chain ending in a nitrile group, a motif that is rare both among synthetic cannabinoids and among medicines. Kevin et al. (2019) describe it as a potent and efficacious agonist of the CB1 receptor (Ki of 2.6 nM, EC50 of 0.58 nM), also active at CB2 (Ki of 14.7 nM, EC50 of 6.12 nM), and report in mice hypothermia from 0.1 mg/kg and pro-convulsant signs from 0.3 mg/kg, the lowest dose then published for a synthetic cannabinoid. Its metabolism is unusual: Åstrand et al. (2018) show that hydroxylation of the cyanobutyl chain forms a cyanohydrin that releases free cyanide, which they consider worrying for liver toxicity. Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/748 records eleven deaths reported by two Member States, the substance being the cause of death or likely to have contributed to it in at least five of them, together with five non-fatal acute intoxications, and notes that cases are probably under-reported because it is not screened for routinely. A published clinical case links the substance to hyperthermia, rhabdomyolysis and renal failure in a 29-year-old patient (El Zahran et al. 2019). The European decision recognises no human or veterinary medical use, and no controlled-exposure study in humans was found in the sources consulted.

Key sources.

History

Source
An entirely synthetic molecule, absent from cannabis and from every living organism. It belongs to the series of synthetic cannabinoids derived from cumylamine; Kevin et al. (2019) trace it, under the code SGT-78, to the examples of a 2014 patent application (WO 2014/167530, Bowden and Williamson). According to Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/748, it has been available in the Union since at least October 2015, and the available data suggest production by chemical companies in China. It has been seized most often as powder or herbal material, more rarely in blotter form; it is sold as smoking mixtures or as powder, and the packaging of such products rarely states the ingredients.

Origin

Laboratory synthesis

No biosynthetic pathway: the molecule does not derive from hemp. It is an indazole-3-carboxamide obtained in the laboratory, described here by chemical class only: an indazole nucleus bearing a 4-cyanobutyl chain on its nitrogen, linked by a carboxamide bridge to a cumyl head. This chemistry is unrelated to the terpenophenols of the plant.

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Synthetic CB receptor agonist › New psychoactive substance

Class

indazole-3-carboxamide

Verification

Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (English)

CUMYL-4CN-BINACA (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

References

  1. Kevin et al. · Front Pharmacol 2019 (new tab)PMID 31191320
  2. Åstrand et al. · Drug Test Anal 2018 (new tab)PMID 29577658
  3. Öztürk et al. · Drug Test Anal 2018 (new tab)PMID 28691766
  4. Staeheli et al. · Drug Test Anal 2018 (new tab)PMID 28885775
  5. Bovens et al. · Forensic Sci Int 2017 (new tab)PMID 29125990
  6. Yeter · J Anal Toxicol 2017 (new tab)PMID 28977413
  7. El Zahran et al. · Clin Toxicol 2019 (new tab)PMID 30442067
  8. Dogan et al. · Food Chem Toxicol 2026 (new tab)PMID 41109593
  9. Aktas Senocak et al. · Food Chem Toxicol 2026 (new tab)PMID 42800628
  10. Yılmaztürk et al. · Food Chem Toxicol 2025 (new tab)PMID 40854477

Identifiers

Names

IUPAC name
1-(4-cyanobutyl)-N-(2-phenylpropan-2-yl)indazole-3-carboxamide
Other names
SGT-78 · 4-CN-CUMYL-BINACA · 4CN-CUMYL-BUTINACA · CUMYL-CYBINACA

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₂H₂₄N₄O
CAS
1631074-54-8
PubChem CID
117650402(new tab)
InChIKey
JGTSOWOPISVAHG-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CC(C)(C1=CC=CC=C1)NC(=O)C2=NN(C3=CC=CC=C32)CCCCC#N

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.