Structural analogues of the potent known anticonvulsant agent N-acetyl-DL-alanine N-benzylamide (1a) have been prepared (16 examples). The pharmacological activities of these products were evaluated in the maximal electroshock seizure (MES), the subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole seizure threshold (sc Met), and the rotorod (Tox) tests. The median effective doses (ED50) and the median toxic doses (TD50) for the most active compounds by both intraperitoneal and oral administration are reported. The most active compounds were N-acetyl-DL-phenylglycine N-benzylamide (1d) and N-acetyl-DL-alanine N-m-fluorobenzylamide (1m) along with the parent compound 1a. The ED50 values in the MES test for these three compounds compared well with phenobarbital, while their high TD50 values contributed to their large protective indexes, which approached that of phenytoin. When tested against four convulsant agents, compounds 1a and 1d displayed activity profiles significantly different from those reported for conventionally used antiepileptic drugs.
The enzyme L-aspartase from Escherichia coli has an absolute specificity for its amino acid substrate. An examination of a wide range of structural analogues of L-aspartic acid did not uncover any alternate substrates for this enzyme. A large number of competitive inhibitors of the enzyme have been characterized, with inhibition constants ranging over 2 orders of magnitude. A divalent metal ion is required for enzyme activity above pH 7, and this requirement is met by many transition and alkali earth metals. The binding stoichiometry has been established to be one metal ion bound per subunit. Paramagnetic relaxation studies have shown that the divalent metal ion binds at the recently discovered activator site on L-aspartase and not at the enzyme active site. Enzyme activators are bound within 5 A of the enzyme-bound divalent metal ion. The activator site is remote from the active site of the enzyme, since the relaxation of inhibitors that bind at the active site is not affected by paramagnetic metal ions bound at the activator site.
Synthetic routes have been developed for the preparation of functionalized amino acid derivatives in which the α‐substituent at carbon 2 is either an aromatic or a heteroaromatic group. The α‐substituent was introduced using an amidoalkylation reaction using boron trifluoride etherate and proceeded in moderate yield with excellent regioselectivity. This protocol permitted the employment of the acid sensitive heterocycles: pyrrole, benzofuran, and indole. The scope and limitations of this procedure have been evaluated.
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