No abstract

All possible stereoisomeric alcohols (6-benzyl-8-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonan-2-ol) and methyl ethers (6-benzyl-2-methoxy-8-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonane) are prepared from (R)- and (S)-glutamate. A Dieckmann analogous cyclization, which makes use of trapping the primary cyclization product with Me3SiCl, generates the bicyclic framework. Stereoselective LiBH4 reduction and Mitsunobu inversion establish the configuration in position 2. Enantiomeric alcohols 15 (1S,2S,5R) and ent-15 (1R,2R,5S) as well as diastereomeric methyl ethers ent-17 (1R,2R,5S) and ent-22 (1R,2S,5S) display high sigma1 receptor affinity. Cell growth inhibition of the stereoisomeric alcohols and methyl ethers against five human tumor cell lines is investigated. In particular, at a concentration of 20 muM the four methyl ethers stop completely the cell growth of the small cell lung cancer cell line A-427, indicating a specific target in this cell line. The IC50-values of methyl ethers ent-17 and ent-22 are in the range of the antitumor drugs cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Binding assays show that the investigated tumor cell lines express considerable amounts of sigma1 and sigma2 receptors.

Azabis(oxazolines) prove to be superior ligands for the enantioselective, cobalt(II)-catalyzed conjugate reduction of a,b-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with sodium borohydride. b-Trisubstituted a,b-unsaturated esters and amides as well as g-butenolides are readily converted to their corresponding saturated counterparts with enantioselectivities up to 97% ee.

Three sets of stereoisomeric bicyclic kappa agonists with defined orientation of the pharmacophoric elements pyrrolidine and dichlorophenylacetamide were stereoselectively prepared and pharmacologically evaluated. Stereoselective reduction, reductive amination, and Mitsunobu inversions were the key steps for the establishment of the desired stereochemistry. The kappa affinity decreased in the following order depending on the N-substituent: CO(2)CH(3) > benzyl > COCH(2)CH(3). Bicyclic derivatives with (1S,2R,5R)-configuration showed the highest kappa receptor affinity, which led to dihedral angles of 97 degrees and 45 degrees for the N(pyrrolidine)-C-C-N(phenylacetamide) structural element. The most potent kappa agonist of this series was (+)-methyl (1S,2R,5R)-8-[2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)acetyl]-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)-6,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonane-6-carboxylate (ent-23, WMS-0121) with an K(i) value of 1.0 nM. ent-23 revealed high selectivity against the other classical opioid receptors and related receptor systems. In the [(35)S]GTPgammaS-binding assay at human kappa-opioid receptors, ent-23 was proved to be a full agonist with the same EC(50) value (87 nM) as the prototypical full agonist U-69,593 (EC(50) = 80 nM).