A series of indole-2-carboxylates bearing suitable chains at the C-3 position of the indole nucleus was synthesized and evaluated in terms of in vitro affinity using [3H]glycine binding assay and in vivo potency by inhibition of convulsions induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) in mice. 3-[2-[(Phenylamino)carbonyl]ethenyl]-4,6-dichloroindole-2-carboxyl ic acid (8) was an antagonist at the strychnine-insensitive glycine binding site (noncompetitive inhibition of the binding of [3H]TCP, pA2 = 8.1) displaying nanomolar affinity for the glycine binding site (pKi = 8.5), coupled with high glutamate receptor selectivity (> 1000-fold relative to the affinity at the NMDA, AMPA, and kainate binding sites). This indole derivative inhibited convulsions induced by NMDA in mice, when administered by both iv and po routes (ED50 = 0.06 and 6 mg/kg, respectively). The effect of the substituents on the terminal phenyl ring of the C-3 side chain was investigated. QSAR analysis suggested that the pKi value decreases with lipophilicity and steric bulk of substituents and increases with the electron donor resonance effect of the groups present in the para position of the terminal phenyl ring. According to these results the terminal phenyl ring of the C-3 side chain should lie in a nonhydrophobic pocket of limited size, refining the proposed pharmacophore model of the glycine binding site associated with the NMDA receptor.

This paper describes the successful transfer of benzotriazole-based chemistry on solid support. The strategy followed to anchor this peculiar heterocycle on solid phase and the full analytical characterization of the various supported benzotriazoles are herein described. The chemistry assessment process on solid phase, the preparation of discrete libraries by parallel synthesis, the semiautomated purification procedures, and the complete analytical characterization of the library components are also presented and discussed.

A series of analogues of the indole-2-carboxylate GV150526, currently in clinical trials as a potential neuroprotective agent for the control of the cerebral damage after stroke onset, was designed based on previous studies dealing with the electronic features of the north-east region of the glycine binding site associated with the NMDA receptor. In particular, the substitution of the para position of the terminal phenyl ring of GV150526 with suitable hydrophilic groups resulted in the identification of a new class of glycine antagonists. These compounds exhibited nanomolar in vitro affinity to the glycine binding site, high receptor selectivity, and outstanding in vivo potency. In particular, 3-[(E)-2-[(4-ureidomethylphenyl)aminocarbonyl]ethenyl]-4, 6-dichloroindole-2-carboxylic acid was found to be highly effective in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) model in the rat, an animal model of focal ischemia, when given both prior to and after the occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Notably, a significant neuroprotective effect was seen in this model postischaemia, when the administration of this compound was delayed up to 6 h from the occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, further confirming the wide therapeutic window seen for GV150526A.

The presence of dansyl or dabsyl chromogenic moieties in a solid-phase analytical construct, an assembly of linkers/spacers/sensitizers for improving analytical characterization, allows the accurate estimation of products from solid-phase synthesis by UV detection during liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis in the cleavage solution. The spectroscopic properties of dansylated molecules have been evaluated to verify the "compound-independent UV absorption" necessary for using the chromophore in the accurate estimation. First, measurements on commercial dansylated compounds were made, then a series of construct-like molecules were prepared by solution-phase synthetic procedures and their UV properties were determined. Compound calibration curves were determined, and UV absorption was shown to be both proportional to the compound concentration and compound-independent. An example of a dansyl construct derivative was then prepared on a polymeric matrix, and an accurate estimation using the calibration curves was carried out in the cleavage solution. Good agreement was found between the calculated amount of released compound using the UV calibration curves and the calculated amount using both (1)H NMR and LC/chemiluminescent nitrogen detection quantitative techniques. Preliminary studies using the dabsyl moiety as an improved chromophore with higher wavelength and extinction coefficient are also reported.

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