Piperazine imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxaline ureas as high-affinity GABAA ligands of dual functionality

Radical Ions of 3-Styryl-quinoxalin-2-one Derivatives Studied by Pulse Radiolysis in Organic Solvents

The absorption-spectral and kinetic behaviors of radical ions and neutral hydrogenated radicals of seven 3-styryl-quinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (3-SQ) derivatives, one without substituents in the styryl moiety, four others with electron-donating (R = -CH₃, -OCH₃, and -N(CH₃)₂) or electron-withdrawing (R = -OCF₃) substituents in the para position in their benzene ring, and remaining two with double methoxy substituents (-OCH₃), however, at different positions (meta/para and ortho/meta) have been studied by UV-vis spectrophotometric pulse radiolysis in neat acetonitrile saturated with argon (Ar) and oxygen (O₂) and in 2-propanol saturated with Ar, at room temperature. In acetonitrile solutions, the radical anions (4R-SQ^•-) are characterized by two absorption maxima located at λ_max = 470-490 nm and λ_max = 510-540 nm, with the respective molar absorption coefficients ε_470-490 = 8500-13 100 M^-1 cm^-1 and ε_510-540 = 6100-10 300 M^-1 cm^-1, depending on the substituent (R). All 4R-SQ^•- decay in acetonitrile via first-order kinetics, with the rate constants in the range (1.2-1.5) × 10⁶ s^-1. In 2-propanol solutions, they decay predominantly through protonation by the solvent, forming neutral hydrogenated radicals (4R-SQH^•), which are characterized by weak absorption bands with λ_max = 480-490 nm. Being oxygen-insensitive, the radical cations (4R-SQ^•+) are characterized by a strong absorption with λ_max = 450-630 nm, depending on the substituent (R). They are formed in a charge-transfer reaction between a radical cation derived from acetonitrile (ACN^•+) and substituted 3-styryl-quinoxalin-2-one derivatives (4R-SQ) with a pseudo-first-order rate constant k = (2.7-4.7) × 10⁵ s^-1 measured in solutions containing 0.1 mM 4R-3-SQ. The Hammett equation plot gave a very small negative slope (ρ = -0.08), indicating a very weak influence of the substituents in the benzene ring on the rate of charge-transfer reaction. The decay of 4R-SQ^•+ in Ar-saturated acetonitrile solutions occurs with a pseudo-first-order rate constant k = (1.6-6.2) × 10⁴ s^-1 and, in principle, is not affected by the presence of O₂, suggesting charge-spin delocalization over the whole 3-SQ molecule. Most of the radiolytically generated transient spectra are reasonably well-reproduced by semiempirical PM3-ZINDO/S (for 4R-SQ^•-) and density functional theory quantum mechanics calculations employing M06-2x hybrid functional together with the def2-TZVP basis set (for 4R-SQ^•+).

Synthetic Strategies for 5- and 6-Membered Ring Azaheterocycles Facilitated by Iminyl Radicals

The totality of chemical space is so immense that only a small fraction can ever be explored. Computational searching has indicated that bioactivity is associated with a comparatively small number of ring-containing structures. Pyrrole, indole, pyridine, quinoline, quinazoline and related 6-membered ring-containing aza-arenes figure prominently. This review focuses on the search for fast, efficient and environmentally friendly preparative methods for these rings with specific emphasis on iminyl radical-mediated procedures. Oxime derivatives, particularly oxime esters and oxime ethers, are attractive precursors for these radicals. Their use is described in conventional thermolytic, microwave-assisted and UV-vis based preparative procedures. Photoredox-catalyzed protocols involving designer oxime ethers are also covered. Choice can be made amongst these synthetic strategies for a wide variety of 5- and 6-membered ring heterocycles including phenanthridine and related aza-arenes. Applications to selected natural products and bioactive molecules, including trispheridine, vasconine, luotonin A and rutaecarpine, are included.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Imidazo[1,5-a]quinoline as Highly Potent Ligands of Central Benzodiazepine Receptors

A series of imidazo[1,5-a]quinoline derivatives was designed and synthesized as central benzodiazepine receptor (CBR) ligands. Most of the compounds showed high CBR affinity with Ki values within the submicromolar and subnanomolar ranges with interesting modulations in their structure-affinity relationships. In particular, fluoroderivative 7w (Ki = 0.44 nM) resulted in the most potent ligand among the imidazo[1,5-a]quinoline derivatives described so far. Overall, these observations confirmed the assumption concerning the presence of a large though apparently saturable lipophilic pocket in the CBR binding site region interacting with positions 4 and 5 of the imidazo[1,5-a]quinoline nucleus. The in vivo biological characterization revealed that compounds 7a,c,d,l,m,q,r,w show anxiolytic and antiamnestic activities without the unpleasant myorelaxant side effects of the classical 1,4-BDZ. Furthermore, the effect of 7l,q,r, and 8i in lowering lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release induced by ischemia-like conditions in rat brain slices suggested neuroprotective properties for these imidazo[1,5-a]quinoline derivatives.

Regioselective synthesis of imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalines and methyl N-phenylbenzimidats on an ionic liquid support

An ionic liquid supported synthesis of imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalines and methyl N-phenylbenzimidats was explored to generate polycyclic imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalines and methyl N-phenylbenzimidats during the cleavage of the support.

Amino acid chirons: a tool for asymmetric synthesis of heterocycles

As a result of their easy availability in enantiomerically enriched form and their possession of synthetically transformable diverse functional groups, amino acids have been extensively used by synthetic organic and medicinal chemists as a chiral pool for access to heterocycles (monocycles, bicycles or polycycles, either bridged or fused). This review describes the syntheses of diverse asymmetric heterocycles with various membered rings (n = 3-9) followed by benzo or heteroannulated ones, for the period from 1996 to Dec. 2013. It details solution phase synthetic methodologies in which the naturally occurring α-amino acid is incorporated, totally or partially, into the final product.

Antimicrobial activity of imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxaline derivatives with pyridinium moiety

3-Phenyl(methyl)-5-alkyl-1-(pyridin-3-yl)imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalin-4-ones (2a-f) and their N-alkyl-pyridinium salts (3a-o), including 1,n-bis{3-(3-phenylimidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalin-4(5H)-on-1-yl)pyridinium}alkane dibromides (4a-d, 5, 6) have been synthesized. It has been established that the antimicrobial properties of imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxaline derivatives are connected with the presence of various alkyl substituents in the position 1 of the pyridine ring and in the position 5 of the imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxaline system. Chlorides and iodides are more active towards bacteria than fungi. Compounds 3d, 3e, 3m and 3n showed an effective bacteriostatic activity. Compound showed not only well defined bacteriostatic activities but also good fungistatic activities, with the MIC values comparable with the reference drugs. Toxicity of more effective (imidazo[1,5-a]quinoxalin-4-on-1-yl)-1-pyridinium halides was examined in mice.

pH-dependent inhibition of native GABA(A) receptors by HEPES

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Artificial buffers such as HEPES are extensively used to control extracellular pH (pH(e) ) to investigate the effect of H(+) ions on GABA(A) receptor function.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

In neurones cultured from spinal cord dorsal horn (DH), dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and cerebellar granule cells (GC) of neonatal rats, we studied the effect of pH(e) on currents induced by GABA(A) receptor agonists, controlling pH(e) with HCO(3) (-) or different concentrations of HEPES.

KEY RESULTS

Changing HEPES concentration from 1 to 20 mM at constant pH(e) strongly inhibited the currents induced by submaximal GABA applications, but not those induced by glycine or glutamate, on DH, DRG or GC neurones, increasing twofold the EC(50) for GABA in DH neurones and GC. Submaximal GABA(A) receptor-mediated currents were also inhibited by piperazine-N,N'-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (PIPES), 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane or imidazole. PIPES and HEPES, both piperazine derivatives, similarly inhibited GABA(A) receptors, whereas the other buffers had weaker effects and 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid had no effect. HEPES-induced inhibition of submaximal GABA(A) receptor-mediated currents was unaffected by diethylpyrocarbonate, a histidine-modifying reagent. HEPES-induced inhibition of GABA(A) receptors was independent of membrane potential, HCO(3) (-) and intracellular Cl(-) concentration and was not modified by flumazenil, which blocks the benzodiazepine binding site. However, it strongly depended on pH(e) .

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Inhibition of GABA(A) receptors by HEPES depended on pH(e) , leading to an apparent H(+) -induced inhibition of DH GABA(A) receptors, unrelated to the pH sensitivity of these receptors in both low and physiological buffering conditions, suggesting that protonated HEPES caused this inhibition.

Hormesis: its impact on medicine and health

This article offers a broad assessment of the hormetic dose response and its relevance to biomedical researchers, physicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and public health scientists. This article contains a series of 61 questions followed by relatively brief but referenced responses that provides support for the conclusion that hormesis is a reproducible phenomenon, commonly observed, with a frequency far greater than other dose-response models such as the threshold and linear nonthreshold dose-response models. The article provides a detailed background information on the historical foundations of hormesis, its quantitative features, mechanistic foundations, as well as how hormesis is currently being used within medicine and identifying how this concept could be further applied in the development of new therapeutic advances and in improved public health practices.

Regioselective ring-opening of amino acid-derived chiral aziridines: an easy access to cis-2,5-disubstituted chiral piperazines

An efficient four-step synthetic strategy for cis-2,5-disubstituted chiral piperazines derived from amino-acid-based aziridines is described. The key steps in this strategy are the highly regioselective boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF(3)·OEt(2))-mediated ring-opening of less-reactive N-Ts chiral aziridines by α-amino acid methyl ester hydrochloride followed by Mitsunobu cyclization. This protocol has been used in an attempt to construct the piperazine core framework of natural product (+)-piperazinomycin.

Hormesis is central to toxicology, pharmacology and risk assessment

This paper summarizes numerous conceptual and experimental advances over the past two decades in the study of hormesis. Hormesis is now generally accepted as a real and reproducible biological phenomenon, being highly generalized and independent of biological model, endpoint measured and chemical class/physical stressor. The quantitative features of the hormetic dose response are generally highly consistent, regardless of the model and mechanism, and represent a quantitative index of biological plasticity at multiple levels of biological organization. The hormetic dose-response model has been demonstrated to make far more accurate predictions of responses in low dose zones than either the threshold or linear at low dose models. Numerous therapeutic agents widely used by humans are based on the hormetic dose response and its low dose stimulatory characteristics. It is expected that as low dose responses come to dominate toxicological research that risk assessment practices will incorporate hormetic concepts in the standard setting process.

Selectively N-protected enantiopure 2,5-disubstituted piperazines: avoiding the pitfalls in solid-phase Fukuyama-Mitsunobu cyclizations

An efficient solid-phase route to ring-substituted piperazines from O-linked resin-bound (S)-aziridine-2-methanol is described. Regioselective microwave-assisted aminolysis followed by intramolecular Fukuyama-Mitsunobu cyclization constitute the key features of the protocol. Simple piperazines and diazepanes were readily obtained without preceding N-protection of the acyclic intermediate, whereas attempts to extend this protocol to chiral 2,5-disubstituted piperazines failed. Modifications encompassing N-carbamoylation prior to ring-closure were therefore investigated. However, standard carbamoylating agents, for example, Fmoc-Cl and Alloc-Cl tended to give bis-protected by-products. Thus, novel microwave-assisted solid-phase N-protection procedures were developed for efficient introduction of Fmoc, Boc and Alloc groups. The subsequent cyclization proceeded in moderate to excellent yields depending on the bulk of the side chain and type of N-protecting group. This protocol readily provided novel cis- and trans-2,5-disubstituted piperazines displaying a variety of N-protecting group patterns after further on-resin manipulations. Also, unexpected by-products obtained during these optimization studies were identified and characterized. This includes nosylated ureas arising from an alternative cyclization pathway. Finally, post-cleavage oxidation gave access to the Fmoc/Boc-protected alpha-amino acid as well as the corresponding aldehyde. The chiral piperazines described in this work will enable construction of combinatorial libraries with a higher chemical diversity compared to those containing simple N,N'-difunctionalized piperazines, often present in drug-like compounds.

Discovery of potent and selective inhibitors of 11beta-HSD1 for the treatment of metabolic syndrome

High throughput screening efforts have identified a novel class of dichloroaniline amide 11beta-HSD1 inhibitors. SAR studies initiated from dichloroaniline 4 focused on retaining the potency and selectivity profile of the lead.

Simultaneous Solid-Phase Synthesis of Quinoxalinone and Benzimidazole Scaffold Libraries

This article describes a method for simultaneous solid-phase synthesis of a quinoxalinone and benzimidazole scaffold library that consists of 240 members. The library was generated by using the solid-phase "split-and-pool" approach and the IRORI sorting system.

Structure-NMR chemical shift relationships for novel functionalized derivatives of quinoxalines

(1)H, (13)C and (15)N NMR chemical shifts for a variety of novel quinoxalines were determined by different 2D methods and were calculated using the GIAO DFT approach. Comparison with experimental data shows good correlations in the case of (1)H, (13)C and (15)N chemical shifts. Different combinations of basis sets were tested. In non-polar solvents quinoxalines exist as dimers owing to strong hydrogen bonding. Calculations for dimers improve the correlation between experiment and theory. Additive empirical methods for estimating chemical shifts have drawbacks and have to be used with a great care for this type of compound.

Imidazo[2,1-b]thiazepines: synthesis, structure and evaluation of benzodiazepine receptor binding

As a continuation of our search for new ligands acting on benzodiazepine receptors among the fused 2-thiohydantoin derivatives, a series of 5-substituted imidazo[2,1-b]thiazepines was synthesized and investigated in radioligand binding studies at the benzodiazepine binding site of GABA(A) receptors in rat brain cortical membranes. Among ortho-substituted 5-arylidene-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazepines compounds could be identified which exhibit affinity for the benzodiazepine binding site at low micromolar concentrations. X-ray structure analyses for two compounds (6ae and 6ag) have been performed. In order to analyze the structure-activity relationships, 3D models of all compounds have been completed (using X-ray data). Physicochemical properties calculated (log P and log D) as well as experimental thin layer chromatography data were examined.

The recent impact of solid-phase synthesis on medicinally relevant benzoannelated nitrogen heterocycles

Benzoannelated heterocycles such as benzodiazepines and indoles can be prepared efficiently through cyclization on solid supports, although no single approach is currently universal for the preparation of all benzoannelated N-heterocycle chemistries. In this review, a number of synthetic strategies for the generation of benzoannelated nitrogen heterocycles using resin-bound substrates have been described. Classical heterocycle forming reactions such as the Fischer indole, the Bischler-Napieralski tetrahydroisoquinoline, the Pictet-Spengler tetrahydro-beta-carboline, the Tsuge, the Nenitzescu and the Richter cinnoline reaction are presented. In addition, the Heck, Sonogashira, Wittig, Diels-Alder, and olefin metathesis reactions have been also used. Multicomponent reactions such as the Grieco three-component assembly have been exploited for the synthesis of heterocycles. Cyclative cleavage from the solid support is particularly suitable for the synthesis of heterocycles while particular emphasis has been focused on the synthesis of libraries and the use of combinatorial chemistry techniques. In addition, the most relevant pharmacological properties of benzoannelated nitrogen heterocycles are included.

Imidazo-thiazine, -diazinone and -diazepinone derivatives. Synthesis, structure and benzodiazepine receptor binding

In our search for new compounds acting on benzodiazepine receptors among the fused 2-thiohydantoin derivatives, a series of arylidene imidazo[2,1-b]thiazines was synthesized. The 1,2- and 2,3- cyclized derivatives of mono- and di-substituted Z-5-arylidene-2-thiohydantoins were examined (the X-ray crystal structure of Z-2-cinnamylidene-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazin-3(2H)-one was determined) and compared with the diphenyl derivatives. To investigate the influence of the type of annelated ring on the biological activity, imidazo[2,1-b]pyrimidinone and imidazo[2,1-b]diazepinone derivatives were obtained. The method used in annelation (1,2- and 2,3-cyclized isomers with the exception of fused arylidene imidazothiazines), the substitution pattern (arylidene towards diphenyl) as well as the character of the annelated ring had minor influence on the benzodiazepine receptor affinity of the investigated compounds. It appears that the greatest influence on the biological activity has the character and position of the substituents on the arylidene ring.