Ohmefentanyl is a very potent and highly selective agonist for mu-opioid receptors. We now study analgesia, in vitro activity and opioid receptor affinity of the stereoisomers of ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate. We found that some isomers of ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate had a potent analgesic effect and that all isomers except (3R,4S,2'S)-ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate had a more potent inhibitory action on the electrically evoked contractions of mouse vas deferens than of guinea pig ileum. The inhibitory actions could be antagonized by naloxone. However, compared with the activity of the corresponding stereoisomers of ohmefentanyl, these ohmefentanyl isothiocyanates had significantly reduced analgesia and in vitro activity. They also inhibited the binding of [3H]DPDPE ([D-Pen(2),D-Pen(5)]enkephalin) and [3H]DAGO ([D-Ala(2),Mephe(4),Gly-ol(5)]enkephalin) to opioid receptors in mouse brain membranes. The inhibitory effect of stereoisomers of ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate at mu-opioid receptors was markedly lower than that of their parent compounds. The affinity of stereoisomers of ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate for delta-opioid receptors was, however, greater than or equal to that of their corresponding stereoisomers of ohmefentanyl. The results showed that the introduction of an isothiocyanato group into the phenyl ring in position-1 of ohmefentanyl reduced bioactivity and affinity to mu-opioid receptors but that the selectivity of these compounds for delta-opioid receptors was enhanced. Isomer (3R,4S,2'R)-ohmefentanyl isothiocyanate showed highest selectivity for delta-opioid receptors (K(i)(mu)/K(i)(delta)=13.6) and potent analgesic activity (ED(50)=0.25 mg/kg).