We recently reported oxazatricyclodecane derivatives 1 as δ opioid receptor (DOR) agonists having a novel chemotype, but their DOR agonistic activities were relatively low. Based on the working hypothesis that the dioxamethylene moiety in 1 may be an accessory site and that it may interfere with the sufficient conformational change of the receptor required for exerting the full agonistic responses, we designed and synthesized new oxazatricyclodecane derivatives 2–4 lacking the dioxamethylene moiety. As we expected, the designed compounds 2–4 showed pronouncedly improved agonistic activities for the DOR. Compound 2a with the 17-cyclopropylmethyl substituent was a potent agonist with the highest selectivity for the DOR and was expected to be a lead compound for novel and selective DOR agonists.Download high-res image (79KB)Download full-size image

We applied a desilylation procedure using SO3H silica gel, with the surface modified by alkylsulfonic acid groups, to silylated sugar, nucleoside, and alkaloid derivatives. The treatment with SO3H silica gel provided desilylated products in good to excellent yield. In the reactions of sugar and nucleoside derivatives, no silyl residue was detected in the crude products, but the crude products of the reaction of alkaloids contained small amounts of silyl residues. Even though the sugar and nucleoside derivatives had a labile glycosyl and CN bond, respectively, these bonds tolerated the reaction conditions. These outcomes suggested that the desilylation procedure using SO3H silica gel would be applicable to the deprotection of a variety of types of compounds protected by silyl groups. In a gram scale experiment, the desilylation procedure successfully proceeded without the observation of any silyl residue in the crude product.Download high-res image (193KB)Download full-size image

As the reports about C-homomorphinans with the seven-membered C-ring are much fewer than those of morphinan derivatives with a six-membered C-ring, we attempted to synthesize C-homomorphinan derivatives and to evaluate their opioid activities. C-Homomorphinan 5 showed sufficient binding affinities to the opioid receptors. C-Homomorphinan derivatives possessing the δ address moiety such as indole (NTI-type), quinoline, or benzylidene (BNTX-type) functionalities showed the strongest binding affinities for the δ receptor among the three types of opioid receptors, which indicated that the C-homomorphinan skeleton sufficiently functions as a message-part in the ligand. Although NTI-type compound 8 and quinoline compound 9 with C-homomorphinan scaffold exhibited lower affinities and selectivities for the δ receptor than the corresponding morphinan derivatives did, both the binding affinity and selectivity for the δ receptor of BNTX-type compound 12 with a seven-membered C-ring were improved compared with the corresponding compounds with a six-membered C-ring including BNTX itself. BNTX-Type compound 12 was the most selective δ receptor antagonist among the tested compounds.

We synthesized compounds 4a,c–f,h,i containing the oxazatricyclodecane structure from a novel rearrangement reaction product 2a. All the prepared compounds 4a,c–f,h,i exhibited full agonistic activities for the δ opioid receptor (DOR). Among them, the N-methyl derivative 4c was highly selective, and the most effective DOR agonist in functional assays. Subcutaneous administration of 4c produced dose-dependent and NTI (selective DOR antagonist)-reversible antinociception lacking any convulsive behaviors in the mice acetic acid writhing tests. The N-methyl derivative 4c is expected to be a promising lead compound for selective DOR agonists with a novel chemotype.Keywords: CellKey; DOR; Opioid; oxazatricyclodecane structure;