Evaluating MISER chromatography for a rapid formulation screen.

MISER chromatography was evaluated to increase data processing speed for a rapid, miniaturized in vitro formulation screen. This approach permitted quick data interpretation by eliminating time-consuming steps such as integration, quantitation and report generation. Some flexibility in analytical methodology was lost due to limited instrument platforms capable of injecting multiple samples and acquiring all data in a single chromatogram.

Mitigating the inhibition of human bile salt export pump by drugs: opportunities provided by physicochemical property modulation, in silico modeling, and structural modification.

The human bile salt export pump (BSEP) is a membrane protein expressed on the canalicular plasma membrane domain of hepatocytes, which mediates active transport of unconjugated and conjugated bile salts from liver cells into bile. BSEP activity therefore plays an important role in bile flow. In humans, genetically inherited defects in BSEP expression or activity cause cholestatic liver injury, and many drugs that cause cholestatic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in humans have been shown to inhibit BSEP activity in vitro and in vivo.

Development of a computational tool to rival experts in the prediction of sites of metabolism of xenobiotics by p450s.

The metabolism of xenobiotics--and more specifically drugs--in the liver is a critical process controlling their half-life. Although there exist experimental methods, which measure the metabolic stability of xenobiotics and identify their metabolites, developing higher throughput predictive methods is an avenue of research. It is expected that predicting the chemical nature of the metabolites would be an asset for designing safer drugs and/or drugs with modulated half-lives.

Virtual screening and computational optimization for the discovery of covalent prolyl oligopeptidase inhibitors with activity in human cells.

Our docking program, Fitted, implemented in our computational platform, Forecaster, has been modified to carry out automated virtual screening of covalent inhibitors. With this modified version of the program, virtual screening and further docking-based optimization of a selected hit led to the identification of potential covalent reversible inhibitors of prolyl oligopeptidase activity. After visual inspection, a virtual hit molecule together with four analogues were selected for synthesis and made in one-five chemical steps.

Discovery of P2X3 selective antagonists for the treatment of chronic pain.

Purinergic receptor P2X3 has been linked to analgesia in a number of pre-clinical models of pain, and is expressed in the human pain perception pathway. Only few P2X3-selective antagonists have been reported to date. This Letter describes the SAR and in vivo analgesic profile of a novel scaffold of selective P2X3 antagonists.

Indanylacetic acids as PPAR-delta activator insulin sensitizers.

A series of indane acetic acid derivatives were prepared which show a spectrum of activity as insulin sensitizers and PPAR-alpha and PPAR-delta ligands. In vivo data are presented for insulin sensitizers with selectivity for PPAR-delta over PPAR-alpha.

PDE-10A inhibitors as insulin secretagogues.

Modulation of cAMP levels has been linked to insulin secretion in preclinical animal models and in humans. The high expression of PDE-10A in pancreatic islets suggested that inhibition of this enzyme may provide the necessary modulation to elicit increased insulin secretion. Using an HTS approach, we have identified quinoline-based PDE-10A inhibitors as insulin secretagogues in vitro.

Indanylacetic acid derivatives carrying aryl-pyridyl and aryl-pyrimidinyl tail groups--new classes of PPAR gamma/delta and PPAR alpha/gamma/delta agonists.

Modulation of PPAR activities represents an attractive approach for the treatment of diabetes with associated cardiovascular complications. The indanylacetic acid structural motif has proven useful in the generation of potent and tunable PPAR ligands. Modification of the substituents on the linker and the heterocycle tail group allowed for the modulation of the selectivity at the different receptor subtypes.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of monopyrrolinone-based HIV-1 protease inhibitors possessing augmented P2' side chains.

A series of monopyrrolinone-based HIV-1 protease inhibitors possessing rationally designed P2' side chains have been synthesized and evaluated for activity against wild-type HIV-1 protease. The most potent inhibitor displays subnanomolar potency in vitro for the wild-type HIV-1 protease. Additionally, the monopyrrolinone inhibitors retain potency in cellular assays against clinically significant mutant forms of the virus.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of monopyrrolinone-based HIV-1 protease inhibitors.

The design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of HIV-1 protease inhibitors [(-)-6, (-)-7, (-)-23, (+)-24] based upon the 3,5,5-trisubstituted pyrrolin-4-one scaffold is described. Use of a monopyrrolinone scaffold leads to inhibitors with improved cellular transport properties relative to the earlier inhibitors based on bispyrrolinones and their peptide counterparts. The most potent inhibitor (-)-7 displayed 13% oral bioavailability in dogs.

Total Synthesis and Absolute Configuration of (-)-Anthoplalone.

We report the total synthesis of the cytotoxic agent (-)-anthoplalone and the determination of its absolute stereochemistry. The cyclopropane moiety was prepared using a nonracemic bicyclic chloroallyl phosphonamide anion addition to tert-butyl 3,3-dimethyl acrylate. Several pathways were studied to secure the E-trisubstituted olefin of the left part of the molecule.