The peripherally restricted fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB937 (3, cyclohexylcarbamic acid 3’-carbamoyl-6-hydroxybiphenyl-3-yl ester) is extruded from the brain and spinal cord by the Abcg2 efflux transporter. Despite its inability to enter the central nervous system (CNS), 3 exerts profound antinociceptive effects in mice and rats, which result from the inhibition of FAAH in peripheral tissues and the consequent enhancement of anandamide signaling at CB1 cannabinoid receptors localized on sensory nerve endings. In the present study, we examined the structure-activity relationships (SAR) for the biphenyl region of compound 3, focusing on the carbamoyl and hydroxyl groups in the distal and proximal phenyl rings. Our SAR studies generated a new series of peripherally restricted FAAH inhibitors and identified compound 35 (cyclohexylcarbamic acid 3’-carbamoyl-5-hydroxybiphenyl-3-yl ester) as the most potent brain-impermeant FAAH inhibitor disclosed to date.

Various thiomethyl-substituted N-heterocycles (pyridines, pyrimidines, pyrazines, pyridazines, triazines, benzothiazoles, benzoxazoles, pyrazoles, benzindazoles, quinazolines, etc.) undergo smooth Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions with functionalized aryl-, heteroaryl-, benzylic-, and alkylzinc reagents using Pd(OAc)(2)/S-Phos as the catalytic system mostly at 25 degrees C. No copper salt is required to perform these reactions.

Ceramides are lipid-derived intracellular messengers involved in the control of senescence, inflammation, and apoptosis. The cysteine amidase, acid ceramidase (AC), hydrolyzes these substances into sphingosine and fatty acid and, by doing so, regulates their signaling activity. AC inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of pathological conditions, such as cancer, in which ceramide levels are abnormally reduced. Here, we present a systematic SAR investigation of the benzoxazolone carboxamides, a recently described class of AC inhibitors that display high potency and systemic activity in mice. We examined a diverse series of substitutions on both benzoxazolone ring and carboxamide side chain. Several modifications enhanced potency and stability, and one key compound with a balanced activity−stability profile (14) was found to inhibit AC activity in mouse lungs and cerebral cortex after systemic administration. The results expand our arsenal of AC inhibitors, thereby facilitating the use of these compounds as pharmacological tools and their potential development as drug leads.

A variety of unsaturated thioethers have been subjected to cross-coupling reactions with functionalized zinc reagents in the presence of a transition-metal catalyst. Three different catalytic systems based on Pd(OAc)(2) or [Ni(acac)(2)] and the ligands S-Phos or DPE-Phos gave the best results. N-Heterocyclic thioethers based on a pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, pyridazine, triazine, benzothiazole, benzoxazole, pyrrole, or quinazoline ring, as well as thiomethylacetylenes, serve as electrophiles in this cross-coupling reaction. Aryl-, heteroaryl-, benzylic, and alkylzinc halides with sensitive functionalities, such as ester, nitrile, or ketone groups react at ambient temperature with unsaturated thioethers using a Ni catalyst. The corresponding Pd-catalyzed reactions require slightly higher temperatures. Large-scale cross-coupling experiments (10-20 mmol) with N-heterocycles are also reported.

The aryl sulfoxide moiety (ArSO) allows an expedient two-step meta-, para-difunctionalization of readily available diaryl sulfoxides. In the first step, the sulfoxide plays the role of a directing metalation group. In the second step, triggered by i-PrMgCl x LiCl, it becomes a leaving group and undergoes a regioselective sulfoxide-magnesium exchange.