ABSTRACT
Tramadol [2-(dimethylaminomethyl)-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanol] (Figure 13.2) is a mild, nonaddictive, centrally acting binary analgesic agent, introduced in Germany in the later 1970s by Grunenthal (Germany).3 It was approved for use in the United States in 1995 and is currently marketed as Ultram by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Inc. While the marketed form is the racemic hydrochloride salt of the cis-isomer, the (+)-enantiomer of the cis-isomer exhibits analgesic activity 10-fold higher than that of the (−)-enantiomer.4
