10.1016/j.bmc.2009.12.036
The research aimed to develop more potent and soluble aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists by modifying the molecular structure of b-naphthoflavone to disrupt its planarity. The study focused on introducing various substituents at the ortho-positions of the phenyl group to increase the dihedral angle, thereby reducing crystal packing energy and improving aqueous solubility. The most successful analog was the difluoro analog (1e), which exhibited seven times greater AhR-agonistic activity and three times greater solubility compared to b-naphthoflavone. The study concluded that disrupting molecular planarity is an effective strategy for improving the solubility of AhR agonists, offering a novel approach to developing more potent and soluble ligands for AhR research.