Introduction:
We report herein on the design and development of matrix tablets containing potent
synthetic melatonin (MLT) receptor analogues, the x-fluoro-y-methoxy substitiuted phenylalkylamides (compounds
I-IV), the preparation and melatoninergic potency of which was recently communicated.
Methods:
The presence of the fluorine atom in compounds I-IV, besides not affecting their binding affinity,
compared to the pineal hormone melatonin, it also slows down their metabolism, which is a major drawback of
MLT. However, as fluorine increases the lipophilicity, solid pharmaceutical formulations of I-IV, involving the
appropriate biopolymers for their modified release in aqueous media, were developed in the context of the present
work.
Results:
The release profile of analogues I-IV was found to be similar to that of MLT and also of the commercially
available drug, Circadin®. Some of these systems are suitable for dealing with sleep onset problems,
whilst others for dealing with combined sleep onset/sleep maintenance problems.
Conclusion:
Apart from the nature and relevant content of the formulants used, this bimodal release profile of
the new analogues depends, to a large extent, on the diverse structural arrangement of their side chains in space,
as nicely demonstrated by the molecular dynamics calculations, conducted in the context of this study.