Metabolic stabilization of benzylidene ketal M(2) muscarinic receptor antagonists via halonaphthoic acid substitution

Geminal Diheteroatomic Motifs: Some Applications of Acetals, Ketals, and Their Sulfur and Nitrogen Homologues in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design

Acetals and ketals and their nitrogen and sulfur homologues are often considered to be unconventional and potentially problematic scaffolding elements or pharmacophores for the design of orally bioavailable drugs. This opinion is largely a function of the perception that such motifs might be chemically unstable under the acidic conditions of the stomach and upper gastrointestinal tract. However, even simple acetals and ketals, including acyclic molecules, can be sufficiently robust under acidic conditions to be fashioned into orally bioavailable drugs, and these structural elements are embedded in many effective therapeutic agents. The chemical stability of molecules incorporating geminal diheteroatomic motifs can be modulated by physicochemical design principles that include the judicious deployment of proximal electron-withdrawing substituents and conformational restriction. In this Perspective, we exemplify geminal diheteroatomic motifs that have been utilized in the discovery of orally bioavailable drugs or drug candidates against the backdrop of understanding their potential for chemical lability.

Site-Selective Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira Cross Coupling Reactions of the Bis(triflate) of 2,4'-Bis(hydroxy)diphenyl Sulfone

Described is the synthesis of novel arylated and alkynylated 2,4′‐diphenyl sulfones based on what are, to the best of our knowledge, the first palladium(0)‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions of bis(triflates) of 2,4′‐bis(hydroxy)diphenyl sulfone. The reactions proceed with very good site‐selectivity.

First synthesis of 4-(arylsulfonyl)phenols by regioselective [3+3] cyclocondensations of 1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes with 2-arylsulfonyl-3-ethoxy-2-en-1-ones

The formal [3+3] cyclization of 1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes with readily available 2-arylsulfonyl-3-ethoxy-2-en-1-ones resulted in regioselective formation of 4-(arylsulfonyl)phenols.

Isopropyl amide derivatives of potent and selective muscarinic M2 receptor antagonists

Low molecular weight amide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as M(2) receptor antagonists for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Isopropyl amides 19 and 31 are highly potent, selective and low molecular weight M(2) receptor antagonists with structural features different from our clinical candidate 1.

Muscarinic M2 antagonists: anthranilamide derivatives with exceptional selectivity and in vivo activity

Anthranilamide analogues such as 23 are potent and highly selective muscarinic M2 antagonists that also show good oral bioavailability and in vivo activity.

Enhancement of pharmacokinetic properties and in vivo efficacy of benzylidene ketal M(2) muscarinic receptor antagonists via benzamide modification

We previously reported the initial discovery of a novel class of stabilized benzylidene ketal M(2) receptor antagonists. This paper discusses new analogues consisting of benzamide modifications which not only improved M(2) receptor affinity and selectivity, but also enhanced the pharmacokinetic properties of the series. These changes led to the discovery of a highly potent and selective M(2) antagonist, which demonstrated in vivo efficacy and had good bioavailability in multiple species.

Synthesis of mono- and difluoronaphthoic acids

Aryl carboxamides are useful structural units found in several biologically active compounds. Unlike their benzoic acid counterparts, fluorinated versions of naphthoic acids are relatively unknown. In connection with a recent project, we needed viable syntheses of several mono- and difluorinated naphthoic acids. Herein we describe the synthesis of 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-fluoro-1-naphthalenecarboxylic acids and 5,7-, 5,8-, 6,7-, and 4,5-difluoro-1-naphthalenecarboxylic acids. The 5-fluoro derivative 1was obtained from the corresponding 5-bromo compound via electrophilic fluorination of the lithio-intermediate. The rest of the monofluoro (2, 3, and 4) and the difluoro acids (5, 6, and 7) were prepared by a new, general route which entailed the elaboration of commercial fluorinated phenylacetic acids to 2-(fluoroaryl)glutaric acids with differential ester groups; selective hydrolysis to a mono acid, intramolecular Friedel-Crafts cyclization, and aromatization furnished the target structures. An alternative process to assemble a naphthalene skeleton is also presented for the difluoro acids 5 and 6. Finally, 4,5-difluoro-1-naphthalenecarboxylic acid (8) was prepared expeditiously from 1,8-diaminonaphthalene by adapting classical reactions.

Muscarinic agonists and antagonists in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment and personality changes. The development of drugs for the treatment of the cognitive deficits of AD has focused on agents which counteract loss in cholinergic activity. Although symptoms of AD have been successfully treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, donepezil. rivastigmine, galanthamine), limited success has been achieved with direct M1 agonists, probably due to their lack of selectivity versus other muscarinic receptor subtypes. Muscarinic M2 antagonists have been reported to increase synaptic levels of acetylcholine after oral administration to rats (e.g. BIBN-99, SCH-57790), but their selectivity versus other muscarinic receptor subtypes is modest. Exploration of a series of piperidinylpiperidines has yielded the potent and selective M2 antagonist SCH-217443. This antagonist has excellent bioavailability in rats and dogs and shows activity in a rat model of cognition.