Introducing Conformational Restraints on 25CN-NBOH: A Selective 5-HT2A Receptor Agonist

Emil Marcher-Rørsted, Jitka Nykodemová, Kasper Harpsøe, Anders A. Jensen, Jesper L. Kristensen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The N-benzylphenethylamines (NBOMes) are a class of ligands from which compounds with impressive selectivity for the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) over the closely related serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) have emerged. These include 4-(2-((2-hydroxybenzyl)amino)ethyl)-2,5-dimethoxybenzonitrile (25CN-NBOH, 1) and 2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromobenzyl)-6-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperidine (DMPMBB, 2). The present work entails the synthesis and characterization of ligands wherein the structures of these two molecules have been fused. The desired compounds were accessed by a six-step synthetic procedure followed by the chiral resolution of the resulting racemic mixtures, giving one active ((S,S)-3) and three essentially inactive stereoisomers. In silico experiments support that one of the four possible stereoisomers would be active. Further in silico investigations showed that 1, 2, and (S,S)-3 share a common binding mode, further supporting the shared stereochemistry between the active enantiomer ((S,S)-3) and 2.

Original languageEnglish
JournalACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Volume14
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)319–325
ISSN1948-5875
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • 5-HTR
  • binding mode
  • psychedelics
  • serotonin 2A receptor

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