Inhibitory effects of phthalimide derivatives on the activity of the hepatic cytochrome P450 monooxygenases CYP2C9 and CYP2C19.

Affecting hepatic cytochrome (CYP) activity is one of the major concerns in drug-drug interaction. Thus the testing of drug candidates on their impact on these enzymes is an essential step in early drug discovery. We tested a collection of 480 in-house phthalimide derivatives against different CYP450s using a high throughput inhibition assay. In initial tests with the isoform CYP2C19 about 57.5% of the tested phthalimide derivatives showed significantly enhanced inhibitory effects against this enzyme. In addition similar patterns of phthalimide inhibition for CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 were found, whereas the unrelated isoforms CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 were not specifically affected. Also less than 10% of randomly chosen substances inhibited CYP2C9. Analyses of structure-function relationships revealed that the substituent at the nitrogen atom in the isoindole ring is of crucial impact for the activity of CYP2C9/19.

New Developments in the Field of Reaction Technology: The Multiparallel Reactor HPMR 50-96.

Catalytic high-pressure reactions play an important role in classic bulk chemistry. The optimization of common reactions, the search for new and more effective catalysts, and the increasing use of catalytic pressure reactions in the field of drug development call for high-parallel reaction systems. A crucial task of current developments, apart from the parameters of pressure, temperature, and number of reaction chambers, is, in this respect, the systems' integration into complex laboratory automation environments.

Unusual coupling reactions of aldehydes and alkynes: a novel preparation of substituted phthalic acid derivatives by automated synthesis.

Based upon a highly versatile multicomponent methodology, a new one-pot synthesis of substituted phthalic acid derivatives from alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes was developed. The reaction involves the intermediacy of an acetamidodiene species which undergoes Diels-Alder addition to diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. The resultant acetamidocyclohexadiene is subject to elimination of acetamide under the reaction conditions to give rise to substituted diethyl phthalates in good yields. This domino condensation-cycloaddition-elimination sequence has been applied to a variety of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. Furthermore, we demonstrated the exploitation of parallelized and automated synthesis technology for the rapid screening of reaction conditions and compositions. Detailed studies revealed the catalytic role of the employed acetamide and the occurrence of a stereoselective 1,4-syn elimination pathway under standard conditions.