Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is hypothesized to lead to an increase in circulating levels of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, resulting in the potentiation of their in vivo pharmacological properties. As part of an effort to identify inhibitors of sEH with high and sustained plasma exposure, we recently performed a high throughput screen of our compound collection. The screen identified N-(3,3-diphenyl-propyl)-nicotinamide as a potent inhibitor of sEH. Further profiling of this lead revealed short metabolic half-lives in microsomes and rapid clearance in the rat. Consistent with these observations, the determination of the in vitro metabolic profile of N-(3,3-diphenyl-propyl)-nicotinamide in rat liver microsomes revealed extensive oxidative metabolism and a propensity for metabolite switching. Lead optimization, guided by the analysis of the solid-state costructure of N-(3,3-diphenyl-propyl)-nicotinamide bound to human sEH, led to the identification of a class of potent and selective inhibitors. An inhibitor from this class displayed an attractive in vitro metabolic profile and high and sustained plasma exposure in the rat after oral administration.

Palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution and cross-coupling reactions have been combined into a sequential procedure to provide a range of disubstituted olefin products starting from two-, three-, and four-carbon common olefin templates. Diverse application of this template strategy is demonstrated in a variety of model studies and in a parallel synthesis (combinatorial) approach to prepare an allylic amine molecular library. An approach toward the preparation of astaxanthin beta-D-diglucoside, an interesting antioxidant whose total synthesis has yet to be reported, using the olefin-template approach is also discussed.

Sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) is a ubiquitously expressed transmembrane ion channel responsible for intracellular pH regulation. During myocardial ischemia, low pH activates NHE1 and causes increased intracellular calcium levels and aberrant cellular processes, leading to myocardial stunning, arrhythmias, and ultimately cell damage and death. The role of NHE1 in cardiac injury has prompted interest in the development of NHE1 inhibitors for the treatment of heart failure. This report outlines our efforts to identify a compound suitable for once daily, oral administration with low drug-drug interaction potential starting from NHE1 inhibitor sabiporide. Substitution of a piperidine for the piperazine of sabiporide followed by replacement of the pyrrole moiety and subsequent optimization to improve potency and eliminate off-target activities resulted in the identification of N-[4-(1-acetyl-piperidin-4-yl)-3-trifluoromethyl-benzoyl]-guanidine (60). Pharmacological evaluation of 60 revealed a remarkable ability to prevent ischemic damage in an ex vivo model of ischemia reperfusion injury in isolated rat hearts.

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