Nitrous oxide
PubChem records this structure as Nitrous Oxide.
Also known asLaughing gas · Dinitrogen oxide · Dinitrogen monoxide · Factitious air · nitrogen protoxide · Nitrogen oxide (N2O) · Hyponitrous acid anhydride · Nitrogen hypoxide
nitrous oxide
- PubChem CID
- 948
- ChEMBL
- CHEMBL1234579
- Measurements
- 0
- InChIKey
- GQPLMRYTRLFLPF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
I · Summary
What is known
Published passages, each quoted whole and attributed to the database that published it. Two blocks are written here rather than quoted, and both say so where they stand: the synthesized summary at the top, which may draw only on the passages beneath it, and the history note, which cites the works it came from. Every claim in either carries a marker to its source.
What it is
Nitrous Oxide can cause developmental toxicity and female reproductive toxicity according to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Nitrous oxide is a colorless, sweet-tasting gas. It is also known as "laughing gas". Continued breathing of the vapors may impair the decision making process. It is noncombustible but it will accelerate the burning of combustible material in a fire. It is soluble in water. Its vapors are heavier than air. Exposure of the container to prolonged heat or fire can cause it to rupture violently and rocket. It is used as an anesthetic, in pressure packaging, and to manufacture other chemicals.
Nitrous oxide, refrigerated liquid appears as a colorless liquid. Density 1.22 g / cm3 at its boiling point of -89 °C. Boils to give a colorless gas that is sweet-smelling and moderately toxic. The gas has narcotic effects when inhaled (laughing gas). Shipped under refrigeration. Vapor pressure is at about 745 psig at 70 °F. Used to freeze foods and to manufacture other chemicals.
Dinitrogen oxide is a nitrogen oxide consisting of linear unsymmetrical molecules with formula N2O. While it is the most used gaseous anaesthetic in the world, its major commercial use, due to its solubility under pressure in vegetable fats combined with its non-toxicity in low concentrations, is as an aerosol spray propellant and aerating agent for canisters of 'whipped' cream. It has a role as an analgesic, a vasodilator agent, a general anaesthetic, an inhalation anaesthetic, a NMDA receptor antagonist, a member of greenhouse gas, a bacterial metabolite, a raising agent, a member of food packaging gas, a food propellant and a refrigerant. It is a gas molecular entity and a nitrogen oxide.
Recognized use
/CLINICAL TRIALS/ ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry and results database of publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants conducted around the world. The Web site is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each ClinicalTrials.gov record presents summary information about a study protocol and includes the following: Disease or condition; Intervention (for example, the medical product, behavior, or procedure being studied); Title, description, and design of the study; Requirements for participation (eligibility criteria); Locations where the study is being conducted; Contact information for the study locations;…
Therapeutic Uses
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)NIH/NLM; ClinicalTrials.Gov. Available from, as of March 17, 2016: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=nitrous+oxide&Search=Search
Although 50% nitrous oxide (N(2)O) and oxygen is a widely used treatment, its efficacy had never been evaluated in the prehospital setting. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of premixed N(2)O and oxygen in patients with out-of-hospital moderate traumatic acute pain. This prospective, randomized, multicenter, double-blind trial enrolled patients with acute moderate pain (numeric rating scale [NRS] score between 4 and 6 out of 10) caused by trauma. Patients were assigned to receive either 50/50 N(2)O and oxygen 9 L/min (N(2)O group) or medical air (MA) 9 L/min (MA group), in ambulances from two nurse-staffed fire department centers. After the first 15 minutes, every p…
Therapeutic Uses
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 23406077Ducasse JL et al; Acad Emerg Med 20 (2): 178-84 (2013)
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of N2O-O2 mixture (Inspired O2 30%) on middle ear pressure (MEP) in children compared with the effects of an air-oxygen mixture (Inspired O2 50%). The study included thirty child patients who underwent general anesthesia for different reasons, with the exception of ENT problems and ear interventions. They were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 (15 children: 10 male and 5 female) received a N2O-O2 mixture (Inspired O2 30%); and group 2 (15 children: 10 male and 5 female) were given an air-oxygen mixture (Inspired O2 50%). MEP was measured using a portable impedance analyzer before the operation (PreO),10 minutes after intubation (10…
Therapeutic Uses
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 23909121Apan A et al; B-ENT 9 (2): 141-50 (2013)
For more Therapeutic Uses (Complete) data for Nitrous oxide (17 total), please visit the HSDB record page.
Therapeutic Uses
Nitrous oxide is an odorless, colorless, non-flammable gas. While nitrous oxide is not flammable, it will support combustion to the same extent as oxygen. It leads to a state of euphoria, explaining its nickname, 'laughing gas.' Nitrous oxide is the least potent inhalational anesthetic. Nitrous oxide requires a concentration of 104% to reach one minimum alveolar concentration (MAC). Thus it cannot be a sole anesthetic agent, and it is often combined with a more potent and volatile anesthetic. The combination of analgesic and anesthetic effects makes nitrous oxide a valuable adjunct. Nitrous oxide has a low blood solubility (blood-gas partition coefficient of 0.47), leading to a quick onset a…
Drug Indication
Nitrous oxide has been used as an anesthetic since 1844. It has also been used as a foaming agent for whipped cream, as an oxidant in organic chemical production and as a component of rocket fuel. Occupational exposures have been measured in the 400 to 3000 ppm range without anesthetic waste gas scavenging and 50 ppm with waste gas scavenging. [ACGIH]
Use Classification
Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational DiseasesACGIH - Documentation of the TLVs and BEIs, 7th Ed. Cincinnati: ACGIH Worldwide, 2020.
To oxidize organic compounds at temperatures greater than 300 °C; to make nitrites from alkali metals at their boiling points; in rocket fuel formulations (with carbon disulfide); in the preparation of whipped cream.
Use Classification
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013., p. 1236
Anesthetic in dentistry and surgery, propellant gas in food aerosols, leak detection.
Use Classification
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Lewis, R.J. Sr.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 15th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY 2007., p. 902
For more Uses (Complete) data for Nitrous oxide (7 total), please visit the HSDB record page.
Use Classification
How it acts
Findings to date indicate that nitrous oxide induces opioid peptide release in the brain stem leading to the activation of descending noradrenergic neurones, which results in modulation of the nociceptive process in the spinal cord. Several receptor–effector mechanisms including dopamine receptors, α2 adrenoceptors, benzodiazepine receptors and -methyl- -aspartate (NMDA) receptors have been implicated although the relationship of one with the other is not known.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas is a widely used anesthetic adjunct in dentistry and medicine that is also commonly abused. Studies have shown that N2O alters the function of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), GABAA, opioid, and serotonin receptors among others. However, the receptors systems underlying the abuse-related central nervous system effects of N2O are unclear. The present study explores the receptor systems responsible for producing the discriminative stimulus effects of N2O. B6SJLF1/J male mice trained to discriminate 10 minutes of exposure to 60% N2O + 40% oxygen versus 100% oxygen served as subjects. Both the high-affinity NMDA receptor channel blocker (+)-MK-801 maleate [(5S,10R)-(+)-5-…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 25368340Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4279098
Behavior carries the pharmacological classes and the acute-effect durations, with plasma half-life kept separate from duration of effect.
In the body
The blood/gas partition coefficient is low and most of the inhaled nitrous oxide is rapidly eliminated through the lungs, though small amounts diffuse through the skin.
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)IPCS; Poisons Information Monograph PIM381: Nitrous oxide (February 1992). Available from, as of May 12, 2010: https://www.inchem.org/pages/pims.html
/Nitrous oxide/ is highly lipid soluble and rapidly absorbed and distributed throughout the body, particularly the vessel-rich regions, including the brain, heart, kidney, splanchnic circulation, and endocrine glands. The rate of nitrous oxide uptake during the first 1 or 2 min is about 1.0 L/min (at an inspired concentrations of 80%), with later uptake inversely proportional to the square root of time. /Nitrous oxide/ is relatively nonreactive and poorly soluble in blood. ... Little hepatic or renal metabolism is detectable in experimental animals, although intestinal bacteria can reduce small quantities of inhaled /nitrous oxide/ to nitrogen gas. Small amounts of inhaled /nitrous oxide/ ar…
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Bingham, E.; Cohrssen, B.; Powell, C.H.; Patty's Toxicology Volumes 1-9 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons. New York, N.Y. (2001)., p. V3 652-3
Placental transmission data: time to appear in fetus, 6 minutes; fetal/maternal concentration ratio, 0.6. /From table/
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)LaDu, B.N., H.G. Mandel, and E.L. Way. Fundamentals of Drug Metabolism and Disposition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1971., p. 100
Concentration for surgical anesthesia: nitrous oxide-inhaled concn 80-85%; blood level 30-50 mg/100 mL; partition coefficients: blood/air 0.47; brain/blood 1.1; oil/blood 3; clearance rate of blood passing lung (alveolar tension) 63%.
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Meyers, F.H., E. Jaetz, and A. Golfien. Review of Medical Pharmacology. Los Altos, California: Lange Medical Publications, 1972., p. 178
Nitrous oxide is not biotransformed by enzymatic action in human tissue ... .
Metabolism/Metabolites
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Brunton, L. Chabner, B, Knollman, B. Goodman and Gillman's The Pharmaceutical Basis of Therapeutics, Twelth Edition, McGraw Hill Medical, New York, NY. 2011, p. 546
History, discovery and cultural use
— Not in this archive. PubChem, ChEMBL and the Human Protein Atlas publish pharmacology, regulation and toxicology, and none of them publishes a heading for when Nitrous oxide was first made, by whom, or how it has been used. That is a gap in the databases this site reads and not a gap in the literature — the history of these compounds is written, at length and under peer review, in the works below. This site does not summarize them; it says where they are. Where a published passage above happens to touch origin or traditional use, it appears inside the entry that carries it.
Histories of this field
Scholarship on psychedelics generally, not on Nitrous oxide specifically. Whether any of these treats this compound is a question for the book, not for this page.
Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic
Traces mescaline and the peyote and San Pedro cacti from pre-Columbian ritual use through nineteenth-century chemistry to twentieth-century psychiatry and the counterculture.
Jay M. Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic. Yale University Press, New Haven and London; 2019. ISBN 9780300231076.
Expanding Mindscapes: A Global History of Psychedelicsopen access
Essays on the international and cross-cultural history of psychedelic science, deliberately decentring the standard North American and European account.
Dyck E, Elcock C, editors. Expanding Mindscapes: A Global History of Psychedelics. The MIT Press, Cambridge MA; 2023. ISBN 9780262546935 (paper), 9780262376891 (open access). doi:10.7551/mitpress/14417.001.0001.
Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers
Botany, ethnography and chemistry of the principal hallucinogenic plants, by the founder of modern ethnobotany and the chemist who first synthesized LSD.
Schultes RE, Hofmann A, Rätsch C. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers. 2nd ed. Healing Arts Press, Rochester VT; 2001. ISBN 9780892819799.
Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind
The tradition of scientific self-experimentation with psychoactive drugs, and its part in the emergence of psychology and of modernism.
Jay M. Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind. Yale University Press, New Haven; 2023. ISBN 9780300257946.
Ancient Psychoactive Substances
Archaeological and bioarchaeological evidence for psychoactive plant use across the ancient world.
Fitzpatrick SM, editor. Ancient Psychoactive Substances. University Press of Florida, Gainesville; 2018. ISBN 9780813056708.
A chapter tracing psychedelic and entactogen research from earlier ritual use through the mid-century research period to current clinical trials.
Stroud C, Posey Norris SM, Matney C, editors. History and Current Status of Psychedelics and Entactogens for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders. In: Exploring Psychedelics and Entactogens as Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: Proceedings of a Workshop. National Academies Press, Washington DC; 2022. NBK587225.
Workshop proceedings record what participants said; they are not a consensus statement of the National Academies.
Peer-reviewed review covering the isolation, synthesis, pharmacology and ritual use of peyote and mescaline.
Dinis-Oliveira RJ, Pereira CL, da Silva DD. Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Aspects of Peyote and Mescaline: Clinical and Forensic Repercussions. Current Molecular Pharmacology 12(3):184–194; 2019. doi:10.2174/1874467211666181010154139.
Institutional archives
- Heffter Research Institute Funds and coordinates clinical research on psilocybin, and keeps records of the studies it has supported since 1993. Sponsors the research it archives.
- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Sponsors clinical research, chiefly on MDMA-assisted therapy, and publishes an archive of historical and contemporary documents. A sponsor and an advocacy organization, not a disinterested archive; its clinical programme has a commercial arm.
The rest of this dossier
- Toxicology — 8 published passages, plus any assay in this archive bearing on toxicity.
- Legal — no DEA record is held here — which is not a finding that this compound is uncontrolled.
Passages via PubChem descriptive sections, aggregating DrugBank, LiverTox, FDA, DEA, HSDB, EPA. Each is quoted whole and attributed to the database that published it. The only prose written here about Nitrous oxide is the history note, which says so on its face and carries a reference for every claim in it.
II · Identity
Structure and descriptors
Descriptors are computed here with RDKit from the structure PubChem returns — not from the archive's stored copy, so an edited local structure cannot reach this table.
- Formula
- N2OR
- Molecular weight
- 44.01g/molR
- Exact mass
- 44.0011DaR
- cLogP
- -0.16R
- TPSA
- 53.5ŲR
- H-bond donors
- 0R
- H-bond acceptors
- 1R
- Rotatable bonds
- 0R
- Aromatic rings
- 0R
- Heavy atoms
- 3R
- Fraction sp³
- 0.000R
- Formal charge
- 0R
Computed with RDKit 2025.09.2 from the SMILES returned by PubChem. Audit run 26/09/2026.
III · Behavior
Behavioral summary
Class, mechanism, and the duration of acute effects — each quoted from the record or trial that publishes it. Duration of effects and plasma half-life are shown separately, because they are different quantities and diverge by a factor of three or four.
Classification
Duration of acute subjective effects
—
No controlled human trial reporting a duration for this compound is cited here. The archive holds no other record of one either. A duration is not inferred from a chemical relative.
Plasma elimination half-life
How fast the body clears the drug — not how long the effects last. The two diverge sharply: LSD is cleared with a half-life of about 2.6 h while its subjective effects run 8–12 h.
No half-life is published for this compound in the sources this site reads.
Primary pharmacological drivers
ChEMBL holds no curated mechanism-of-action record for this compound. The measured affinities below are the evidence this archive has for what it binds.
Mechanism, as published
Quoted verbatim from the database named after each passage, never summarized.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas is a widely used anesthetic adjunct in dentistry and medicine that is also commonly abused. Studies have shown that N2O alters the function of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), GABAA, opioid, and serotonin receptors among others. However, the receptors systems underlying the abuse-related central nervous system effe…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 25368340Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4279098 Findings to date indicate that nitrous oxide induces opioid peptide release in the brain stem leading to the activation of descending noradrenergic neurones, which results in modulation of the nociceptive process in the spinal cord. Several receptor–effector mechanisms including dopamine receptors, α2 adrenoceptors, benzodiazepine recepto…
DrugBank N2O interferes with vitamin B12 and folate metabolism. This impairs production of methionine (from homocysteine), used to form tetrahydrofolate and thymidine during DNA synthesis.
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Myles PS et al; Anesthesiology 103: A681 (2005) Nitrous oxide is 35 times more soluble than nitrogen. The gas exchanges with nitrogen and diffuses into hollow viscera and body spaces potentially containing air, such as pneumothorax, paranasal sinuses and pneumoperitoneum, or into the cerebral ventricles following pneumoencephalography. This expands the body of trapped air and increases…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)IPCS; Poisons Information Monograph PIM381: Nitrous oxide (February 1992). Available from, as of February 26, 2016: https://www.inchem.org/pages/pims.html
IV · Clinical
Clinical description
Where this compound's substance class sits in ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR, and how much of the recorded literature speaks to each domain of a mental status examination.
No diagnostic chapter is shown for this compound. Either PubChem records no MeSH pharmacological class for it, or the class it records is not one of the substance classes ICD-11 gives a chapter to. Inferring a chapter from the compound’s name or its binding profile would be a diagnosis this archive is in no position to make.
How much has been written about each domain
The clinical domains, and how many of the records this archive holds for this compound say something under each. What the terms mean, and the word list behind every spoke, are set out in the method.
- Mood 3
- matched on “depression”, “elation”, “mood” · in Pharmacology: Mechanism of Action; Toxicology: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); PMID 4064468
- Cognition 5
- matched on “concentrat”, “memory” · in Pharmacology: Mechanism of Action; Toxicology: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); PMID 16024183; PMID 3335122; PMID 4064468
- Psychomotor activity 3
- matched on “psychomotor” · in PMID 16024183; PMID 3335122; PMID 4064468
VI · Profile
Affinity rosette
No measurement for Nitrous oxide converts to an affinity at a molecular target, so there is no rosette to draw. This is an absence of data, not a finding about the compound.
VII · Toxicology
Toxicological profile
What has been measured, and what has been published — kept apart, and neither scored. There is no risk rating on this page; the archive once carried one, identical for every compound, produced by a stub.
Measured in this archive
Assays that bear on toxicity, drawn from the same ChEMBL records as everything else on this page. They are measurements of what a compound binds or does to cells — not verdicts about what it does to a person.
No hERG, cytochrome, cytotoxicity or transport measurement exists for Nitrous oxide in this archive.
Lethal-dose values — animal studies
These are not human doses. An LD50 is the dose killing half of a group of animals of one species by one route, and it is a poor predictor of human risk for these compounds. Each value is printed whole, with the species and route it was measured in, because a lethal dose separated from those two facts is worse than no figure at all. Nothing here supports inferring a safe dose for anyone.
LC50 Rat inhalation 160 mg/cu m/6 hr
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. 2679
As published
Quoted verbatim from the database named after each passage, never summarized — a summary of a toxicology statement is a new claim.
Toxicity Summary
IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Nitrous Oxide is a stable, non-irritating colorless gas with slightly sweetish odor and taste. It is used as anesthetic in dentistry and surgery, propellant gas in food aerosols, leak detection. HUMAN EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY: The main complication following inhalation of nitrous oxide is varying degrees of hypoxia, affecting the functions of the heart and the brain. This may be associated with h…
While nitrous oxide inactivates methionine synthase, intraoperative use results in a transient metabolic abnormality that soon reverses upon replacing the degrading enzyme.
Human Toxicity Excerpts
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ ... /This/ study compared the states of intoxication produced by three inhaled anesthetics that represent two of the three major classes of abused inhalants ... . Isoflurane and sevoflurane represent the class of volatile substances, and nitrous oxide (N2O) comprises a class of its own. Fourteen healthy volunteers inhaled the vehicle (100% O2) and two concentrations each of isoflurane (0.1 an…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 16024183Beckman NJ et al; Drug Alcohol Depend 81 (1): 89-95 (2006)
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ ... In an attempt to assess and quantitate psychomotor dysfunction, P-300 event related potentials, Symbol Digit Test, Continuous Performance Test, and Finger Tapping Test were obtained from six subjects sequentially exposed to nitrous oxide (N2O) at 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40%. With increasing concentrations of N20, there was prolongation of P-300 latency and worsening of Continuous Performance Te…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 3335122Estrin WJ et al; Clin Pharmacol Ther 43 (1): 86-90 (1988).
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ Patients having major surgery expected to last at least 2 hr were randomly assigned to nitrous oxide-free (80% oxygen, 20% nitrogen) or nitrous oxide-based (70% N2O, 30% oxygen) anesthesia. Patients and observers were blind to group identity. The primary endpoint was duration of hospital stay. Secondary endpoints included duration of intensive care stay and postoperative complications; the la…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 17667565Myles PS et al; Anesthesiology 107 (2): 221-31 (2007)
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ ... Computer based neurobehavioral evaluation system was developed to standardize data collection in epidemiological field studies of individuals at risk for neurobehavioral toxicity. Twelve men 18 to 36 yr old were tested with the neurobehavioral evaluation system 3 times, in an initial training session followed by separate drug and control sessions in randomized order. During drug sessions,…
Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)PMID 4064468Greenberg BD et al; Clin Pharmacol Ther 38 (6): 656-60 (1985).
For more Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for Nitrous oxide (65 total), please visit the HSDB record page.
Published passages via PubChem toxicology sections, aggregating Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), RTECS, LiverTox. No figure on this page is scored, ranked or combined into a risk level.
VIII · Evidence
Every measurement
One row per published value. The identifier in the last column resolves to the ChEMBL assay record it was read from.
No bioactivity measurement is recorded for this compound in the archive.
- P
- PubChem
- C
- ChEMBL
- R
- Computed here with RDKit
- D
- Derived here from the stored measurement
IX · Trials
Registered clinical trials
Studies filed with ClinicalTrials.gov that name this compound as an intervention. A registered trial is a protocol, not a result — status and enrollment are printed beside every row, and withdrawn studies are counted rather than hidden.
149T
Registered studies
16T
Open or ongoing
142T
With a phase recorded
By phase
A study may carry two phase codes at once, so these count studies bearing each phase and do not sum to the total.
- Early phase 18
- Phase 18
- Phase 225
- Phase 316
- Phase 436
- Not applicable53
By status
The registry’s own status for each record. Withdrawn and terminated studies are counted here rather than hidden — a stopped trial is part of what is known.
- Completed91
- Withdrawn16
- Unknown status14
- Terminated12
- Recruiting10
- Not yet recruiting3
- Active, not recruiting2
- Enrolling by invitation1
The 25 most recently started, of 149
Newest first by start date. Each identifier opens the registry record it came from; the title is the sponsor’s own, quoted.
- NCT07690358Recruiting · Not applicable
Concentrations of Nitrous Oxide in Blood, Exhaled Air and Urine After Various Types of Exposure.
- Enrollment
- 40Testimated
- Started
- 2026-06-01
- Sponsor
- University of Aarhus
Conditions Intoxication by Drug
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide 99 %”
- NCT07491874Not yet recruiting · Not applicable
Use of Nitrous Oxide for Pain and Anxiety Management During Cervical Cerclage Removal
- Enrollment
- 60Testimated
- Started
- 2026-05-01
- Sponsor
- Kaplan Medical Center
Conditions Preterm Delivery · Cervical Cerclage · Cervical Insufficiency
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Inhaled nitrous oxide”
- NCT07473206Recruiting · Not applicable
Environmental Visual Distraction With Nitrous Oxide During Outpatient Hysteroscopy: A Randomized Pilot Study
- Enrollment
- 50Testimated
- Started
- 2026-03-09
- Sponsor
- Ospedale degli Infermi di Biella
Conditions Pain During Outpatient Hysteroscopy
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “The control group receives nitrous oxide (N₂O) analgesia, which is a drug intervention, even though it is part of routine clinical practice.”
- NCT06498908Withdrawn · Phase 3
Intracervical Balloon Placement With Nitrous Oxide Administration
- Enrollment
- 0Tactual
- Started
- 2026-03-01
- Sponsor
- Jefferson Drapkin
Conditions Labor Pain · Induced; Birth
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT05710887Withdrawn · Phase 2
N2O for Acute Suicidality and Depression in the ED
- Enrollment
- 0Tactual
- Started
- 2026-02-27
- Sponsor
- University of Chicago
Conditions Suicidal Ideation · Major Depressive Disorder · Treatment Resistant Depression
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide gas for inhalation”
- NCT07262008Not yet recruiting · Phase 3
Sustained Mood Improvement With Laughing Gas Exposure
- Enrollment
- 120Testimated
- Started
- 2026-02-01
- Sponsor
- Women's College Hospital
Conditions Major Depressive Disorder · Treatment Resistant Depression
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Inhalation of Nitrous oxide (Laughing gas) + intravenous saline”
- NCT07387315Not yet recruiting · Phase 4
A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial of Nitrous Oxide During In-office Bladder Botox Injections
- Enrollment
- 96Testimated
- Started
- 2026-02
- Sponsor
- TriHealth Inc.
Conditions Overactive Bladder · Neurogenic Bladder · Urge Incontinence · Pain · Urinary Incontinence · Urinary Bladder, Overactive and 4 more
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Pro-Nox Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen Delivery System”
- NCT07245628Recruiting · Early phase 1
A Trial of Self-Adjusted Nitrous Versus Placebo During Office Vasectomy
- Enrollment
- 50Testimated
- Started
- 2025-10-20
- Sponsor
- Alexandra J. Berger Eberhardt, MD
Conditions Vasectomy
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide”
- NCT05255146Withdrawn · Not applicable
Cryoanalgesia and Post-thoracotomy Pain in Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Enrollment
- 0Tactual
- Started
- 2025-09
- Sponsor
- University of Alberta
Conditions Cryotherapy Effect · Post Operative Pain
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Atricure Inc. Nitrous oxide Cryoprobe”
- NCT07074795Active, not recruiting · Not applicable
Use of Nitrous Oxide During Office Hysteroscopy
- Enrollment
- 400Testimated
- Started
- 2025-07-01
- Sponsor
- Maaynei Hayesha Medical Center
Conditions Abnormal Uterine Bleeding · Postmenopausal Bleeding · Endometrial Polyps · Retained Products of Conception · Uterine Fibroids · Intrauterine Adhesions
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Inhalation of Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) during Office Operative Hysteroscopy”
- NCT07618676Active, not recruiting · Not applicable
The 50:50 Nitrous Oxide vs 2% Lidocaine Challenge
- Enrollment
- 62Testimated
- Started
- 2025-06-06
- Sponsor
- Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
Conditions Acute Pain · Anxiety · Central Venous Catheter
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide-Oxygen”
- NCT06702631Completed · Early phase 1
Nitrous Oxide Neuroimaging
- Enrollment
- 34Tactual
- Started
- 2025-01-13
- Sponsor
- Keith M Vogt
Conditions Anesthesia · Pain · Amnesia
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT06595303Completed
Nitrous Oxyde During Labour
- Enrollment
- 70Tactual
- Started
- 2024-11-05
- Sponsor
- Erasme University Hospital
Conditions Nitrous Oxide · Labour Analgesia
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide for labour analgesia”
- NCT06430489Unknown status · Phase 2
Treatment of Suicidal Ideation in the Emergency Department Using Nitrous Oxide
- Enrollment
- 30Testimated
- Started
- 2024-06
- Sponsor
- University Hospital, Tours
Conditions Suicidal Ideation · Emergency Psychiatric · Nitrous Oxide
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT07557576Recruiting · Not applicable
Effect of Opioid-Free vs Opioid-Based Anesthesia on Postoperative Pain and Emergence Agitation in Children Undergoing Cleft Surgery
- Enrollment
- 90Testimated
- Started
- 2024-05-16
- Sponsor
- Iva Smiljanić
Conditions Cleft Lip Palate · Orofacial Cleft · Agitation, Emergence · Analgesia Assessment · Analgesia · Pediatric
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen”
- NCT05396144Withdrawn · Phase 4
Can Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) be Used as a Sedative for GI Endoscopy Procedures?
- Enrollment
- 0Tactual
- Started
- 2024-05-01
- Sponsor
- Stanford University
Conditions Endoscopy · Colonoscopy
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “5% inhaled nitrous oxide”
- NCT07384988Completed · Phase 2
The Impact of Nitrous Oxide Sedation on Dental Fear and Anxiety Scores in Children Aged 6-10 Years
- Enrollment
- 60Tactual
- Started
- 2024-01-15
- Sponsor
- Shaoxing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital
Conditions Dental Anxiety
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide Sedation”
- NCT05383495Recruiting · Phase 3
Anxiolysis for Laceration Repair in Children
- Enrollment
- 300Testimated
- Started
- 2023-12-19
- Sponsor
- London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's
Conditions Laceration of Skin · Distress, Emotional
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT05890898Completed · Not applicable
Virtual Reality vs Nitrous Oxide in Pediatric Dentistry
- Enrollment
- 62Tactual
- Started
- 2023-09-19
- Sponsor
- Geisinger Clinic
Conditions Pediatric Dentistry
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous Oxide”
- NCT05895383Recruiting · Phase 4
Self-Adjusted Nitrous Oxide: A Feasibility Study in the Setting of Vasectomy
- Enrollment
- 35Testimated
- Started
- 2023-05-24
- Sponsor
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Conditions Procedural Pain · Pain Catastrophizing · Procedural Anxiety
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT05528718Completed
SMILE Trial - Imaging Sub-Study
- Enrollment
- 11Tactual
- Started
- 2023-03-07
- Sponsor
- Unity Health Toronto
Conditions Major Depressive Disorder
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide gas for inhalation”
- NCT05883332Completed · Phase 4
A Pilot Study to Assess Effects of Self-Administered Nitrous Oxide (SANO) on Urodynamic Study (UDS) Parameters
- Enrollment
- 19Tactual
- Started
- 2023-01-10
- Sponsor
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Conditions Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Self-Administered Nitrous Oxide”
- NCT05579288Unknown status · Early phase 1
Use of Nitrous Oxide for Pain Alleviation in Women Undergoing Osmotic Dilator Insertion for Dilatation and Evacuation
- Enrollment
- 60Testimated
- Started
- 2022-12
- Sponsor
- Sheba Medical Center
Conditions Pain Alleviation · Dilatation and Evacuation · Laminaria Placement · Nitrous Oxide
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide (N2O/O2)”
- NCT05388942Unknown status · Not applicable
Virtual Reality Hypnosis Versus Inhaled Nitrous Oxide in Anterior Shoulder Dislocation Reduction: an Open Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial
- Enrollment
- 126Testimated
- Started
- 2022-10-09
- Sponsor
- CHU de Reims
Conditions Shoulder Dislocation
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
- NCT06118567Recruiting · Phase 2
Effect of Nitrous Oxide on Aggression.
- Enrollment
- 50Testimated
- Started
- 2022-09-06
- Sponsor
- Ohio State University
Conditions Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Matched “Nitrous oxide” in the study’s intervention “Nitrous oxide”
Records from ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH), API v2. A study is listed against a compound only when a verified name for that compound appears as a whole word in one of the study's own intervention names. A short code must appear as written, and a name the registry uses for something else (Aleph, a vaccine maker) is not matched. Title matches are not accepted. The matched name and the intervention text it matched are shown with every row.
Searched as Nitrous oxide · Laughing gas · Dinitrogen oxide. Run this search at the registry — it returns the unfiltered result, including studies this page rejected as belonging to a different molecule.
A registered trial is a protocol somebody filed with the registry. It is not a result, and nothing on this plate says whether Nitrous oxide worked.
X · Legal
Controlled-substance status
United States federal scheduling, read from the DEA records this archive holds. Not legal advice, and an absent record is not a finding that a compound is uncontrolled.
Other regulatory records
Registers outside the DEA that hold an entry for Nitrous oxide — chemical-safety and national inventories, each naming itself. They are not scheduling decisions.
Hazard Traits - Developmental Toxicity; Reproductive Toxicity
Nitrogen oxide (N2O) is listed on the EPA's Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) system. Manufacturers and importers of Nitrogen oxide (N2O) are required to report information about their production and use of this chemical to the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). (40 eCFR Part 711)
Status: Active Update: 11-11-2021 https://echa.europa.eu/registration-dossier/-/registered-dossier/14445
Nitrous oxide: HSNO Approval: HSR001065 Approved with controls
An absent DEA record is not a finding that Nitrous oxide is legal. It means this archive holds no DEA passage for it. The Controlled Substances Analogue Enforcement Act reaches substances that appear on no schedule by name, and many compounds here are ring-substituted analogues of scheduled drugs. Nothing on this plate should be read as saying a compound may lawfully be made, held or supplied.
United States federal status only. State law differs, and so does the law of every other country — none of it is represented here. Scheduling changes, and this reflects the DEA records held by PubChem descriptive sections when the monograph was last harvested, not necessarily today. This is a record of what a database publishes, not legal advice.
XI · Literature
Sources behind this dossier
The papers this compound's values were read from, ranked by what each contributed. Not a review of the field.
Every paper below is one some value on this page came from — a binding constant, a passage of pharmacology or toxicology, or a measured duration. Each entry says what this archive took from it. Nothing else is claimed about any of them: the title is the study’s own account of itself, and a summary written here would be an assertion with no source behind it.
- 01
Richardson KJ, Shelton KL · The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics 2015
- · Mechanism of Action
- 02
Avoidance of nitrous oxide for patients undergoing major surgery: a randomized controlled trial
Myles PS, Leslie K, Chan MT et al. · Anesthesiology 2007
- · Human Toxicity Excerpts
- 03
Beckman NJ, Zacny JP, Walker DJ · Drug and alcohol dependence 2006
- · Human Toxicity Excerpts
- 04
The P-300 event-related potential in experimental nitrous oxide exposure
Estrin WJ, Moore P, Letz R et al. · Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 1988
- · Human Toxicity Excerpts
- 05
Computerized assessment of human neurotoxicity: sensitivity to nitrous oxide exposure
Greenberg BD, Moore PA, Letz R et al. · Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 1985
- · Human Toxicity Excerpts