Chromenones as Multineurotargeting Inhibitors of Human Enzymes.

The complex nature of multifactorial diseases, such as Morbus Alzheimer, has produced a strong need to design multitarget-directed ligands to address the involved complementary pathways. We performed a purposive structural modification of a tetratarget small-molecule, that is contilisant, and generated a combinatorial library of 28 substituted chromen-4-ones. The compounds comprise a basic moiety which is linker-connected to the 6-position of the heterocyclic chromenone core.

ω-Quinazolinonylalkyl aryl ureas as reversible inhibitors of monoacylglycerol lipase.

The serine hydrolase monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is involved in a plethora of pathological conditions, in particular pain and inflammation, various types of cancer, metabolic, neurological and cardiovascular disorders, and is therefore a promising target for drug development. Although a large number of irreversible-acting MAGL inhibitors have been discovered over the past years, there are only few compounds known so far which inhibit the enzyme in a reversible manner. Therefore, much effort is put into the development of novel chemical entities showing reversible inhibitory behavior, which is thought to cause less undesired side effects.

ω-Phthalimidoalkyl Aryl Ureas as Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Cholesterol Esterase.

Cholesterol esterase (CEase), a serine hydrolase thought to be involved in atherogenesis and thus coronary heart disease, is considered as a target for inhibitor development. We investigated recombinant human and murine CEases with a new fluorometric assay in a structure-activity relationship study of a small library of ω-phthalimidoalkyl aryl ureas. The urea motif with an attached 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl group and the aromatic character of the ω-phthalimide residue were most important for inhibitory activity.

Characterization of fatty acid amide hydrolase activity by a fluorescence-based assay.

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is involved in many human diseases, particularly cancer, pain and inflammation as well as neurological, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, FAAH is an attractive target for the development of low-molecular-weight inhibitors as therapeutics, which requires robust assays that can be used for high-throughput screening (HTS) of compound libraries. Here, we report the development of a fluorometric assay based on FAAH's ability to effectively hydrolyze medium-chain fatty acid amides, introducing N-decanoyl-substituted 5-amino-2-methoxypyridine (D-MAP) as new amide substrate.