Basic information of MDAI:

(1)CAS No.: ;
(2)Other Names: e;
(3)PubChem: CID 125558;
(4)ChemSpider: 111694;
(5)Formula: C₁₀H₁₁NO₂;
(6)Mol. mass: 177.1998 g/mol.

5,6-Methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (MDAI) is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. The chemical structure of MDAI is indirectly derived from that of the illicit drug MDA, but the alpha-methyl group of the alkylamino amphetamine side chain has been bound back to the benzene nucleus to form an indane ring system, which changes its pharmacological properties substantially.

MDAI and other similar drugs have been widely used in scientific research, as they are able to replicate many of the effects of M, but without causing the neurotoxicity which may be associated with MDMA and some related drugs. MDAI has been advertised as a designer drug. An analysis of two products on sale on the internet in June 2010 found that one contained mephedrone and that the other had an inorganic composition. Neither contained MDAI.