- Evidence of enzyme-mediated transesterification of synthetic cannabinoids with ethanol: potential toxicological impact
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Purpose: Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) represent a large proportion of novel psychoactive substances on the black market and have caused a number of deaths. Polydrug use including combination of SCs and ethanol could further complicate the toxicological impact. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports presenting evidence of transesterification between SCs and ethanol in vitro. Methods: The in vitro metabolism of the four carboxylate SCs PB-22, NPB-22, 5-fluoro-PB-22 (5F-PB-22), and 5-fluoro-NPB-22 (5F-NPB-22) in the presence of ethanol using human liver microsomes with and without appropriate enzyme inhibitors was studied. Newly identified SC ethyl esters were chemically synthesised and fully characterised. The activity of these SCs and their ethanol transesterification products were assessed using cannabinoid receptor (CB1 and CB2) activation assays. Results: SCs/ethanol transesterification products were detected and studied using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry. We have shown that the SC ethyl ester formation is mediated by human carboxyl esterase enzymes. The ethyl esters exhibited a reduced activity for the CB receptors compared with their parent compounds. Conclusions: These novel ethyl esters may be useful additional markers of cannabinoid administration, and especially so if they prove to have longer half-lives than their parent compounds.
- Apirakkan, Orapan,Gavrilovi?, Ivana,Floresta, Giuseppe,Pierre, Cheyanne,Cannaert, Annelies,Stove, Christophe P.,Dargan, Paul I.,Cowan, David A.,Couchman, Lewis,Abbate, Vincenzo
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- Synthesis method of 5F-EMB-PICA
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The invention discloses a synthesis method of 5F-EMB-PICA as shown in a formula I in the specification. The method comprises the following steps: 1) with indole as a precursor, adding 1-bromo-5-fluoropentane and trifluoroacetic anhydride for a reaction to obtain an intermediate 1 as shown in a formula II; 2) subjecting the intermediate shown in the formula II to reacting under the action of alkali to obtain an intermediate 2 shown in a formula III; and 3) in the presence of alkali and a condensing agent, carrying out an amide condensation reaction on the intermediate 2 shown in the formula III and valine ethyl ester to obtain the 5F-EMB-PICA. The 5F-EMB-PICA prepared by the method disclosed by the invention is subjected to column chromatography and recrystallization treatment, and has purity of greater than 97% and total yield of 38.7%.
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Paragraph 0028; 0036; 0040-0041
(2021/06/02)
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- NNL-3: A Synthetic Intermediate or a New Class of Hydroxybenzotriazole Esters with Cannabinoid Receptor Activity?
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Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) remain a prolific class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and continue to expand rapidly. Despite the recent identification of hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) containing SCRAs in synthetic cannabis samples, there is currently no information regarding the pharmacological profile of these NPS with respect to human CB1 and CB2 receptors. In the current study, a series consisting of seven HOBt indole-, indazole-, and 7-azaindole-carboxylates bearing a range of N-alkyl substituents were synthesized and pharmacologically evaluated. Competitive binding assays at CB1 and CB2 demonstrated that all analogues except a 2-methyl-substituted derivative had low affinity for CB1 (Ki = 3.80-43.7 μM) and CB2 (Ki = 2.75-18.2 μM). A fluorometric functional assay revealed that 2-methylindole- and indole-derived HOBt carboxylates were potent and efficacious agonists of CB1 (EC50 = 12.0 and 63.7 nM; Emax = 118 and 120%) and CB2 (EC50 = 10.9 and 321 nM; Emax = 91 and 126%). All other analogues incorporating indazole and 7-azaindole cores and bearing a range of N1-substituents showed relatively low potency for CB1 and CB2. Additionally, a reporter assay monitoring β-arrestin 2 (βarr2) recruitment to the receptor revealed that the 2-methylindole example was the most potent and efficacious at CB1 (EC50 = 131 nM; Emax = 724%) and the most potent at CB2 (EC50 = 38.2 nM; Emax = 51%). As with the membrane potential assay, the indazole and other indole HOBt carboxylates were considerably less potent at both receptors, and analogues comprising a 7-azaindole core showed little activity. Taken together, these data suggest that NNL-3 demonstrates little CB1 receptor activity and is unlikely to be psychoactive in humans. NNL-3 is likely an unintended SCRA manufacturing byproduct. However, the synthesis of NNL-3 analogues proved simple and general, and some of these showed potent cannabimetic profiles in vitro, indicating that HOBt esters of this type may represent an emerging class of SCRA NPS.
- Ametovski, Adam,Cairns, Elizabeth A.,Grafinger, Katharina Elisabeth,Cannaert, Annelies,Deventer, Marie H.,Chen, Shuli,Wu, Xinyi,Shepperson, Caitlin E.,Lai, Felcia,Ellison, Ross,Gerona, Roy,Blakey, Karen,Kevin, Richard,McGregor, Iain S.,Hibbs, David E.,Glass, Michelle,Stove, Christophe,Auw?rter, Volker,Banister, Samuel D.
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p. 4020 - 4036
(2021/11/16)
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- Exploring Stereochemical and Conformational Requirements at Cannabinoid Receptors for Synthetic Cannabinoids Related to SDB-006, 5F-SDB-006, CUMYL-PICA, and 5F-CUMYL-PICA
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Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) represent the most rapidly expanding class of new psychoactive substances (NPSs). Despite the prevalence and potency of recent chiral indole-3-carboxamide SCRAs, few pharmacological data are available regarding the enantiomeric bias of these NPSs toward human CB1 and CB2 receptors. A series of homochiral indole-3-carboxamides derived from (S)- and (R)-α-methylbenzylamine and featuring variation of the 1-alkyl substituent were prepared, pharmacologically evaluated, and compared to related achiral congeners derived from cumyl- and benzylamine. Competitive binding assays demonstrated that all analogues derived from either enantiomer of α-methylbenzylamine (14-17) showed affinities for CB1 (Ki = 47.9-813 nM) and CB2 (Ki = 47.9-347 nM) that were intermediate to that of the corresponding benzylic (10-13, CB1 Ki = 550 nM to >10 μM; CB2 Ki = 61.7 nM to >10 μM) and cumyl derivatives (6-9, CB1 Ki = 12.6-21.4 nM; CB2 Ki = 2.95-24.5 nM). In a fluorometric membrane potential assay, all α-methylbenzyl analogues (excluding 17) were potent, efficacious agonists of CB1 (EC50 = 32-464 nM; Emax = 89-104%) and low efficacy agonists of CB2 (EC50 = 54-500 nM; Emax = 52-77%), with comparable or greater potency than the benzyl analogues and much lower potency than the cumyl derivatives, consistent with binding trends. The relatively greater affinity and potency of (S)-14-17 compared to (R)-14-17 analogues at CB1 highlighted an enantiomeric bias for this series of SCRAs. Molecular dynamics simulations provided a conformational basis for the observed differences in agonist potency at CB1 pending benzylic substitution.
- Ametovski, Adam,Macdonald, Christa,Manning, Jamie J.,Haneef, S. A. Syed,Santiago, Marina,Martin, Lewis,Sparkes, Eric,Reckers, Andrew,Gerona, Roy R.,Connor, Mark,Glass, Michelle,Banister, Samuel D.
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p. 3672 - 3682
(2020/11/18)
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- Synthesis and in Vitro Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Activity of Recently Detected Synthetic Cannabinoids 4F-MDMB-BICA, 5F-MPP-PICA, MMB-4en-PICA, CUMYL-CBMICA, ADB-BINACA, APP-BINACA, 4F-MDMB-BINACA, MDMB-4en-PINACA, A-CHMINACA, 5F-AB-P7AICA, 5F-MDMB-P7AICA, and 5F-AP7AICA
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Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are an evolving class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) with structurally diverse compounds emerging each year. Due to the rapid pace at which these drugs enter the market, there is often little or nil information regarding the pharmacology of these substances despite widespread human use. In this study, 12 recently emerged SCRAs (reported between 2018 and 2020) were synthesized, analytically characterized, and pharmacologically evaluated using a live cell-based nanoluciferase complementation reporter assay that monitors in vitro cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) activation via its interaction with β-arrestin 2 (βarr2). All synthesized SCRAs acted as agonists of CB1, although differences in potency (EC50 = 2.33-5475 nM) and efficacy (Emax = 37-378%) were noted, and several structure-activity relationships were identified. SCRAs featuring indazole cores (EC50 = 2.33-159 nM) were generally of equal or greater potency than indole analogues (EC50 = 32.9-330 nM) or 7-azaindole derivatives (EC50 = 64.0-5475 nM). Interestingly, with the exception of APP-BINACA (Emax = 75.7%) and 5F-A-P7AICA (Emax = 37.4%), all SCRAs showed greater efficacy than the historical SCRA JWH-018 to which responses were normalized (Emax = 142-378%). The most potent CB1 agonists in the study were ADB-BINACA (EC50 = 6.36 nM), 4F-MDMB-BINACA (EC50 = 7.39 nM), and MDMB-4en-PINACA (EC50 = 2.33 nM). Notably, all of these SCRAs featured an indazole core as well as a bulky tert-butyl moiety in the pendant amino acid side chain. This study confirms that recently detected SCRAs 4F-MDMB-BICA, 5F-MPP-PICA, MMB-4en-PICA, CUMYL-CBMICA, ADB-BINACA, APP-BINACA, 4F-MDMB-BINACA, MDMB-4en-PINACA, A-CHMINACA, 5F-AB-P7AICA, 5F-MDMB-P7AICA, and 5F-AP7AICA were all able to activate the CB1 receptor in vitro, albeit to different extents, and are potentially psychoactive in vivo. These results indicate that further evaluation of these widely used NPS is warranted to better understand the risks associated with human consumption of these drugs.
- Cannaert, Annelies,Sparkes, Eric,Pike, Edward,Luo, Jia Lin,Fang, Ada,Kevin, Richard C.,Ellison, Ross,Gerona, Roy,Banister, Samuel D.,Stove, Christophe P.
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p. 4434 - 4446
(2020/12/21)
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- Evaluation of carboxamide-type synthetic cannabinoids on the functional activities at cannabinoid receptors and biological effects via inhalation exposure test
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Purpose: Three synthetic carboxamide-type cannabinoids (5F-MDMB-PICA, 5F-EMB-PINACA, and AMB-CHMICA) were evaluated in terms of their in vitro activities at the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 and in vivo biological effects when smoking the synthetic cannabinoids to assess their biological effects. Methods: [35S]Guanosine-5′-O-(3-thio)-triphosphate binding assays were performed to investigate the half maximal effective concentration values of the test compounds at the CB1 and CB2 receptors. Additionally, the biological effects were evaluated by observing and scoring the behavior of mice with equipment in which they inhaled smoke from a herbal mixture containing the test compounds. Results: All three synthetic cannabinoids tested in this study activated the CB1 and CB2 receptors in vitro. 5F-MDMB-PICA showed less than 1?nM of the half maximal effective concentration value for both receptors. Therefore, it was suggested that 5F-MDMB-PICA was the strongest CB1 and CB2 receptor agonist in comparison with synthetic cannabinoids evaluated in the past. The degree of the various biological effects, specifically passivity, spontaneous activity, abnormal gait, abnormal position, and grip strength, when smoking the synthetic cannabinoids corresponded to the functional activity at the CB1 receptor. However, some biological effects differed between 5F-MDMB-PICA and 5F-MDMB-PINACA, used as a positive control, and AMB-CHMICA induced some biological effects in contrast to the other tested synthetic cannabinoids. Conclusion: This study provides information regarding the biological effects when smoking synthetic cannabinoids from the functional activities at the CB1 and CB2 receptors, considering their way of inhalation and thermal degradation.
- Takeda, Akihiro,Doi, Takahiro,Asada, Akiko,Suzuki, Toshinari,Yuzawa, Katsuhiro,Ando, Hiroshi,Kubo, Yoshikazu,Nagasawa, Akemichi,Kaihoko, Fujifumi,Hasegawa, Yuko,Tanaka, Kazuyoshi,Igarashi, Kai,Maeno, Tomokazu,Suzuki, Atsuko,Shimizu, Seiko,Uemura, Nozomi,Nakajima, Jun’ichi,Suzuki, Jin,Tagami, Takaomi
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p. 455 - 464
(2020/05/06)
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- Pharmacology of Cumyl-Carboxamide Synthetic Cannabinoid New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) CUMYL-BICA, CUMYL-PICA, CUMYL-5F-PICA, CUMYL-5F-PINACA, and Their Analogues
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Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are the largest class of new psychoactive substances (NPS), and are increasingly associated with serious adverse effects. The majority of SC NPS are 1,3-disubstituted indoles and indazoles featuring a diversity of subunits at t
- Longworth, Mitchell,Banister, Samuel D.,Boyd, Rochelle,Kevin, Richard C.,Connor, Mark,McGregor, Iain S.,Kassiou, Michael
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p. 2159 - 2167
(2017/10/23)
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