We have previously shown that (RS)-2-amino-3-[3-hydroxy-5-(2-methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-yl)isoxazol-4-yl]propionic acid (2-Me-Tet-AMPA) is a selective agonist at (RS)-2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazol-4-yl)propionic acid (AMPA) receptors, markedly more potent than AMPA itself, whereas the isomeric compound 1-Me-Tet-AMPA is essentially inactive. We here report the enantiopharmacology of 2-Me-Tet-AMPA in radioligand binding and cortical wedge electrophysiological assay systems, and using cloned AMPA (GluR1-4) and kainic acid (KA) (GluR5, 6, and KA2) receptor subtypes expressed in Xenopus oocytes. 2-Me-Tet-AMPA was resolved using preparative chiral HPLC. Zwitterion (-)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA was assigned the (R)-configuration based on an X-ray crystallographic analysis supported by the elution order of (-)-and (+)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA using four different chiral HPLC columns and by circular dichroism spectra. None of the compounds tested showed detectable affinity for N-methyl-Daspartic acid (NMDA) receptor sites, and (R)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA was essentially inactive in all of the test systems used. Whereas (S)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA showed low affinity (IC 50 = 11 µM) in the [ 3 H]KA binding assay, it was significantly more potent (IC 50 = 0.009 µM) than AMPA (IC 50 = 0.039 µM) in the [ 3 H]AMPA binding assay, and in agreement with these findings, (S)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA (EC 50 = 0.11 µM) was markedly more potent than AMPA (EC 50 = 3.5 µM) in the electrophysiological cortical wedge model. In contrast to AMPA, which showed comparable potencies (EC 50 = 1.3-3.5 µM) at receptors formed by the AMPA receptor subunits (GluR1-4) in Xenopus oocytes, more potent effects and a substantially higher degree of subunit selectivity were observed for (S)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA: GluR1o (EC 50 = 0.16 µM), GluR1o/GluR2i (EC 50 = 0.12 µM), GluR3o (EC 50 = 0.014 µM) and GluR4o (EC 50 = 0.009 µM). At the KA-preferring receptors GluR5 and GluR6/KA2, (S)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA showed much weaker agonist effects (EC 50 = 8.7 and 15.3 µM, respectively). It is concluded that (S)-2-Me-Tet-AMPA is a subunit-selective and highly potent AMPA receptor agonist and a potentially useful tool for studies of physiological AMPA receptor subtypes.