10.1016/j.bmc.2007.11.009
The study investigates the synthesis and biological activity of bivalent 2b-carbomethoxy-3b-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)8-heterobicyclo[3.2.1]octanes as probes for proximal binding sites on the dopamine (DAT) and serotonin (SERT) transporters. The researchers designed bivalent compounds, where two tropane moieties are linked by an intervening chain, to explore the existence of adjacent tropane binding sites on these transporters and to compare the binding sites for different types of tropanes. The parent compounds, including 8-azatropane, 8-oxatropane, and 8-thiatropane, were synthesized and used as the basis for creating bivalent ligands with varying linker lengths. The study found that bivalent 8-azatropanes showed significantly reduced inhibitory potency at both DAT and SERT compared to their monovalent counterparts, suggesting that there are unlikely to be two tropane binding sites in close proximity on either transporter. Additionally, the results indicated that the binding sites for 8-azatropanes are different from those for 8-oxatropanes or 8-thiatropanes, as bivalent ligands containing these latter types of tropanes lost significant potency or were completely inactive at the transporters.
10.1016/S0960-894X(00)00209-2
The study focuses on the synthesis and evaluation of a series of tropane-derived compounds, specifically 4-[(8-alkyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octyl-3-yl)-3-arylanilino]-N,N-diethylbenzamides (denoted as 5a-d), which were designed to have high affinity and selectivity for the delta opioid receptor. These compounds are structurally similar to the piperidine-based compound 3 and were synthesized to test the hypothesis that limiting conformational flexibility could elicit antagonist activity in nitrogen-transposed compounds similar to 3. The chemicals used in the study include 3-tropanone, 3-methoxyaniline, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) ester of 4-fluorobenzoic acid, sodium methoxide, and various reagents for coupling and conversion reactions. The purpose of these chemicals was to synthesize the target compounds and assess their potential as selective ligands for the delta opioid receptor, with the aim of understanding the factors important to antagonist activity and potentially developing new opioid ligands with reduced side effects.