At physiological pH, the spatial arrangement of the three charges of DL-tetrazol-5-ylglycine (5) could be viewed as similar to those found in certain conformations of the two excitatory amino acids (EAAs)--aspartic and glutamic acids. Given significant binding to one or more EAA receptors, 5 would offer unique modeling and perhaps biological opportunities. We have previously shown it to be the most potent NMDA agonist known, with a unique and marked in vitro neutrotoxicity at depolarizing concentrations. Now we report the details required for its synthesis, together with its potency and efficacy in two assays of functional activation of the NMDA receptor, namely agonist-influenced [3H]MK801 binding and agonist-induced release of the neurotransmitter [3H]-norepinephrine from brain slices. In both these assays DL-tetrazol-5-ylglycine proved to be more potent and efficacious than NMDA and cis-methanoglutamate. It was more potent than, and equally efficacious to, L-glutamate in [3H]MK801 binding. The structural features of 5 may well reflect optimal agonist interaction at the NMDA receptor site. (We considered the possibility that some decarboxylation of DL-tetrazol-5-ylglycine may have occurred during testing. This would give 5-(aminomethyl)tetrazole (13), the tetrazole acid analog of glycine; and glycine is involved in NMDA receptor activation. Compound 13 does not affect [3H]glycine binding at the strychnine-insensitive glycine binding site, and [3H]MK801 binding studies showed that the (aminomethyl)-tetrazole, even if is formed, would probably have no effect on the activity of tetrazol-5-ylglycine at the NMDA receptor.