Selegiline belongs to the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical families. It is also known as -deprenyl, as well as (R)-(–)-N,α-dimethyl-N-(2-propynyl)phenethylamine or (R)-(–)-N-methyl-N-2-propynylamphetamine. The compound is a derivative of levomethamphetamine (-methamphetamine) with a propargyl group attached to the nitrogen atom. This detail is borrowed from pargyline, an older MAO-B inhibitor of the phenylalkylamine group. Selegiline is the levorotatory enantiomer of the racemic mixture deprenyl.
Selegiline is synthesized by the alkylation of (–)-methamphetamine using propargyl bromide.
Another clinically used MAOI of the amphetamine class is tranylcypromine.