Context: Procedural sedation (PS) plays an important role in facilitating emergency procedures. Dexmedetomidine is an alpha-adrenergic agonist which can play a role in this issue. This study aimed to systematically review the literature about the role of dexmedetomidine in PS in the emergency department (ED). Methods: In this study, several databases, namely PubMed, Embase, Ovid, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were searched since 1999 up to November 30, 2020. The inclusion criteria in this study were randomized clinical trials performed on ED patients using dexmedetomidine for PS and articles only in the English language. The exclusion criteria were the studies that were not clinical trials or were not performed in the ED, low-quality studies or animal studies. Results: A total of 473 articles were identified in this study. Five studies fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three articles studied the adult population. One study used dexmedetomidine in an intranasal way, and one study used an intramuscular route for drug administration. Conclusions: Although the reviewed studies reported dexmedetomidine as a safe and effective agent for PS, there are not sufficient data on this issue. Therefore, it is required to perform further studies to a draw firmer conclusion.

A series of readily regenerable thioimidazolium-based ionic liquids, which can transfer alkyl groups to nucleophiles, are immobilized on crosslinked polystyrene beads. Different alkyl groups can be loaded onto the resin, highlighting the tunability of the material. The efficiency of these materials is demonstrated by their screening against a series of nucleophiles, showing a particular preference for thiols. Finally, these materials were evaluated for use under continuous flow conditions. The flexibility, ease of use, safety, and recyclability of these alkylating resins shows promise for their use in large scale and automated applications.

CB1, a member of the G protein-coupled receptor class, is the putative protein target of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. To better identify new synthetic cannabinoids with increased activity, all cannabinoids with reported experimental binding to the CB1 receptor were modelled in silico to build a predictive model for CB1 affinity of small molecules. Computationally derived affinity is not sufficient in and of itself to predict binding, but coupled with the experimental evidence that ligands enter the receptor from the membrane rather than solvent, we provide a model that accurately describes the binding of these molecules by incorporating a correction factor for relative hydrophobicity. In addition, we propose a mechanism of action for partial CB1 agonists based on molecular dynamics simulations of THC homologues, modelling long time scale structural changes in the CB1 receptor. Together, the affinity model, and the mechanism of agonism/antagonism can allow for the computational prediction of both the effective behaviour and potency of novel cannabinoids, and several such predictions are made.