AMPA

AMPA

Names
IUPAC names 2-amino-3-(5-methyl-3-oxo-1,2- oxazol-4-yl)propanoic acid
Identifiers
CAS Number	77521-29-0
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
ChemSpider	1184
MeSH	AMPA
PubChem CID	1221
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID20868301
InChI InChI=1/C7H10N2O4/c1-3-4(6(10)9-13-3)2-5(8)7(11)12/h5H,2,8H2,1H3,(H,9,10)(H,11,12)
SMILES NC(Cc1c(C)onc1O)C(=O)O
Properties
Chemical formula	C7H10N2O4
Molar mass	186.165 g/mol
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate) is a compound that is a specific agonist for the AMPA receptor, where it mimics the effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate.

There are two broad categories of glutamate receptors: ionotropic receptors and metabotropic receptors. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are ligand gated ion channels whose agonists include AMPA, Kainate and NMDA. Metabotropic receptors are G-protein coupled receptors and are separated into individual classes. In the synapse, these two classes of receptors serve very different purposes. AMPA can be used experimentally to distinguish the activity of one receptor from the other in order to understand their differing functions. AMPA generates fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP).