Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 31, 2026

6-Hydroxydopa

6-Hydroxydopa is a catecholaminergic neurotoxin that damages noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurons and is used in scientific research. It is a precursor and prodrug of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The drug is a derivative of levodopa (L-DOPA). It has certain advantages over 6-OHDA, such as the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier into the central nervous system and hence the ability to be administered systemically rather than directly into the brain. 6-OH-DOPA was first described in the scientific literature by 1969.

Last revised
Jul 31, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
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Wikipedia ↗
6-Hydroxydopa
Clinical data
Other names6-OH-DOPA; 6-OHDOPA
Drug classCatecholaminergic neurotoxin
Identifiers
  • (2S)-2-amino-3-(2,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
UNII
ChEBI
ChEMBL
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC9H11NO5
Molar mass213.189 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • C1=C(C(=CC(=C1O)O)O)C[C@@H](C(=O)O)N
  • InChI=1S/C9H11NO5/c10-5(9(14)15)1-4-2-7(12)8(13)3-6(4)11/h2-3,5,11-13H,1,10H2,(H,14,15)/t5-/m0/s1
  • Key:YLKRUSPZOTYMAT-YFKPBYRVSA-N

6-Hydroxydopa (6-OH-DOPA; 6-OHDOPA) is a catecholaminergic neurotoxin that damages noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurons and is used in scientific research.123 It is a precursor and prodrug of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA).123 The drug is a derivative of levodopa (L-DOPA).123 It has certain advantages over 6-OHDA, such as the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier into the central nervous system and hence the ability to be administered systemically rather than directly into the brain.123 6-OH-DOPA was first described in the scientific literature by 1969.4

References

References

  1. Kostrzewa RM (2022). "Survey of Selective Monoaminergic Neurotoxins Targeting Dopaminergic, Noradrenergic, and Serotoninergic Neurons". Handbook of Neurotoxicity. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 159–198. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-15080-7_53. ISBN 978-3-031-15079-1.
  2. Kostrzewa RM (2016). "Perinatal Lesioning and Lifelong Effects of the Noradrenergic Neurotoxin 6-Hydroxydopa". Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences. Vol. 29. pp. 43–50. doi:10.1007/7854_2015_414. ISBN 978-3-319-34134-7. PMID 26660536.
  3. Kostrzewa RM, Brus R (1998). "Destruction of catecholamine-containing neurons by 6-hydroxydopa, an endogenous amine oxidase cofactor". Amino Acids. 14 (1–3): 175–179. doi:10.1007/BF01345259. PMID 9871458.
  4. Ong HH, Creveling CR, Daly JW (May 1969). "The synthesis of 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine (6-hydroxydopa). A centrally active norepinephrine-depleting agent". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 12 (3): 458–462. doi:10.1021/jm00303a028. PMID 5788162.