Salmeterol is a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist drug that is prescribed for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). Salmeterol has an aryl alkyl group with a chain length of 11-atoms from the amine. This bulkiness makes the compound more lipophilic and it also makes it β receptor selective. It is a long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist (LABA), usually prescribed only for severe persistent asthma following previous treatment with a short-acting beta agonist such as salbutamol and is prescribed concurrently with a corticosteroid, such as beclometasone. The primary noticeable difference of salmeterol to salbutamol is that the duration of action lasts approximately 12 hours in comparison with 4–6 hours of salbutamol. When used regularly every day as prescribed, inhaled salmeterol decreases the number and severity of asthma attacks.
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