Sunifiram

What Is Sunifiram?

Sunifiram (DM-235) is a synthetic piperazine compound structurally related to piracetam that acts as a cognition-enhancer, functionally described as ampakine-like. It is promoted informally for memory and alertness, but the entire evidence base is preclinical (rodent and in-vitro). There are no published human clinical trials, and it is not an approved medicine or dietary supplement anywhere — it circulates as a research chemical. Anything you read about its effects in people is extrapolation from animal work, not tested outcomes.

Evidence

In the passive-avoidance test in mice, sunifiram prevented scopolamine-induced amnesia at very low doses, and its original characterisation described it as roughly 1,000 times more potent than piracetam-like compounds ^{1Reference 1Ghelardini et al. · 2002AnimalDM235 (sunifiram): a novel nootropic with potential as a cognitive enhancer — mouseView study →}. Later work found its antiamnesic effect is blocked by the AMPA-receptor antagonist NBQX, supporting a role for AMPA-mediated (glutamatergic) neurotransmission, and reported increased acetylcholine release from rat cerebral cortex ^{2Reference 2Galeotti et al. · 2003In vitroAMPA-receptor activation is involved in the antiamnesic effect of DM 232 (unifiram) and DM 235 (sunifiram) — mouse/in vitroView study →}. A pharmacological characterisation of sunifiram (DM235) alongside unifiram (DM232) confirmed potent cognition-enhancing activity across rodent memory paradigms ^{3Reference 3Romanelli et al. · 2006AnimalPharmacological characterization of DM232 (unifiram) and DM235 (sunifiram), new potent cognition enhancers — rodent/in vivo. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16834757/View study →}. All of this is animal/in-vitro data — no efficacy, dosing or safety claim for humans can be drawn from it, and I found no human trial in this pass.

Dosage & Safety

There is no established human dose — the figures circulated online derive from animal studies and anecdote, not clinical work, so no range is given here. Human safety, toxicity, drug interactions and use in pregnancy are entirely uncharacterised. Sunifiram is a research chemical: it is not approved as a supplement or drug, is not manufactured to pharmaceutical quality standards, and this entry is informational only, not a recommendation to use it. Toxicity has not been characterised.

References

1. Ghelardini, C., Galeotti, N., Gualtieri, F., et al. (2002). DM235 (sunifiram): a novel nootropic with potential as a cognitive enhancer — mouse. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12070754/
2. Galeotti, N., Ghelardini, C., et al. (2003). AMPA-receptor activation is involved in the antiamnesic effect of DM 232 (unifiram) and DM 235 (sunifiram) — mouse/in vitro. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14600801/
3. Romanelli, M. N., et al. (2006). Pharmacological characterization of DM232 (unifiram) and DM235 (sunifiram), new potent cognition enhancers — rodent/in vivo. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16834757/