Question

MCAT ELITE: ADVANCED STRATEGIES FOR A PRACTICE PASSAGE According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is a serious mental health problem that affects over 120 million people worldwide. About l5% of the adult US population will suffer from depression at least once in their lifetime. The birth of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) began in 1970 with the discovery of fluoxetine, a highly selective SSRI, which is marketed as ProzacTM. Relative to other depression therapies on the market at the time, Prozac made history because its superior safety profile rocketed it to annual sales of over $3 billion. The original synthetic route to fluoxetine is described in Figure 1. SOCI, CHCL, 2. NaOH, MeOH CH,O, NHMe BH, THF N CF, KOH. HO N Blycol CNBr N benzene/ toluene CN Figure 1 The original commercial synthesis of fluoxetine (Prozac™). Both fluoxetine enantiomers have similar activity in vitro, However, the (S)-enantiomer is the dominant therapeutic drug because it is climinated more slowly in vivo, which prolongs the duration of its effects.

Answer 1

1) C

2) A

3) A

4) C

5) C

6)C