Author: Rainer E. Martin

Predicting and Tuning Physicochemical Properties in Lead Optimization: Amine Basicities

2007

This review describes simple and useful concepts for predicting and tuning the pK(a) values of basic amine centers, a crucial step in the optimization of physical and ADME properties of many lead structures in drug-discovery research. The article starts with a case study of tricyclic thrombin inhibitors featuring a tertiary amine center with pK(a) values that can be tuned over a wide range, from the usual value of around 10 to below 2 by (remote) neighboring functionalities commonly encountered in medicinal chemistry. Next, the changes in pK(a) of acyclic and cyclic amines upon substitution by fluorine, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur functionalities, as well as carbonyl and carboxyl derivativ…

PharmacologyTertiary amineChemistryChemistry PharmaceuticalOrganic ChemistryInformation Storage and Retrievalchemistry.chemical_elementBiochemistryAntithrombinsAmine ligandsComputational chemistryDrug DesignOrganocatalysisDrug DiscoveryFluorineMolecular MedicineOrganic chemistryAmine gas treatingAminesGeneral Pharmacology Toxicology and PharmaceuticsCyclic aminesADMEChemMedChem

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Prospective Evaluation of Free Energy Calculations for the Prioritization of Cathepsin L Inhibitors.

2017

Improving the binding affinity of a chemical series by systematically probing one of its exit vectors is a medicinal chemistry activity that can benefit from molecular modeling input. Herein, we compare the effectiveness of four approaches in prioritizing building blocks with better potency: selection by a medicinal chemist, manual modeling, docking followed by manual filtering, and free energy calculations (FEP). Our study focused on identifying novel substituents for the apolar S2 pocket of cathepsin L and was conducted entirely in a prospective manner with synthesis and activity determination of 36 novel compounds. We found that FEP selected compounds with improved affinity for 8 out of …

0301 basic medicinePrioritizationMolecular modelHalogenationStereochemistryCathepsin LComputational biology01 natural sciencesMolecular Docking SimulationProspective evaluationCathepsin L03 medical and health sciences0103 physical sciencesDrug DiscoveryHumansEnzyme InhibitorsBinding Sites010304 chemical physicsbiologyChemistryMolecular Docking Simulation030104 developmental biologyPyrimidinesDocking (molecular)Drug Designbiology.proteinMolecular MedicineThermodynamicsProtein BindingJournal of medicinal chemistry

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2 H-1,2,3-Triazole-Based Dipeptidyl Nitriles: Potent, Selective, and Trypanocidal Rhodesain Inhibitors by Structure-Based Design.

2018

Macrocyclic inhibitors of rhodesain (RD), a parasitic cysteine protease and drug target for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis, have shown low metabolic stability at the macrocyclic ether bridge. A series of acyclic dipeptidyl nitriles was developed using structure-based design (PDB ID: 6EX8). The selectivity against the closely related cysteine protease human cathepsin L (hCatL) was substantially improved, up to 507-fold. In the S2 pocket, 3,4-dichlorophenylalanine residues provided high trypanocidal activities. In the S3 pocket, aromatic residues provided enhanced selectivity against hCatL. RD inhibition (Ki values) and in vitro cell-growth of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (I…

0301 basic medicineTrypanosoma brucei rhodesienseStereochemistrySwineTrypanosoma cruziPlasmodium falciparumTriazoleProtozoan ProteinsCysteine Proteinase InhibitorsLigands01 natural sciencesCysteine Proteinase InhibitorsCell LineCathepsin L03 medical and health scienceschemistry.chemical_compoundMiceStructure-Activity RelationshipIn vivoDrug DiscoveryNitrilesStructure–activity relationshipAnimalsHumansATP Binding Cassette Transporter Subfamily B Member 1Trypanocidal agentBinding SitesbiologyMolecular Structure010405 organic chemistryChemistryTrypanosoma brucei rhodesienseDipeptidesTriazolesCysteine proteaseTrypanocidal Agents0104 chemical sciencesRatsCysteine Endopeptidases030104 developmental biologyDrug Designbiology.proteinMicrosomes LiverMolecular MedicineFemaleLeishmania donovaniJournal of medicinal chemistry

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