10.1016/S0960-894X(99)00194-8
The research aimed to design, synthesize, and investigate the structure-activity relationships of novel ligands that act at the strychnine-insensitive glycine site of the NMDA receptor. This site is of interest due to its potential therapeutic relevance in various disorders, including cognitive deficits, epilepsy, schizophrenia, pain, depression, and stroke. The study focused on 3-hydroxy-imidazolidin-4-one derivatives, using D-cycloserine (DCS) and L-687,414 as templates due to their rigid framework and spatial orientation of pharmacophores. The researchers synthesized a series of compounds and evaluated their affinities and efficacies at the target site. The most active compound, 3a, exhibited affinity and efficacy similar to DCS, a known partial agonist. However, modifications to the structure of 3a, such as the addition of methyl or hydroxymethyl groups, expansion of the ring size, or replacement of the basic nitrogen with a sulfur atom, generally led to a loss of activity.