N-[9-(ortho-fluorobenzyl)-2-phenyl-8-azapurin-6-yl]-amides as potent and selective ligands for A₁ adenosine receptors.

A series of N-[9-(ortho-fluorobenzyl)-2-phenyl-8-azapurin-6-yl]-amides were synthesized and tested for their affinity toward A₁, A2A , and A₃ adenosine receptor subtypes. Biological results demonstrated that the introduction of a fluorine atom at the ortho position of the 9-benzyl group generally enhanced affinity toward A₁ subtype and did not significantly affect A2A and A₃ affinity. Very interesting is the compound bearing a meta-fluorophenyl substituent on the carbonyl carbon of the amide group, which shows significantly high A₁/A2A-A₃ selectivity. Compounds of this new series, together with the previously published analogs without the fluorine atom on the 9-benzyl group, constituted the starting dataset for the development of QSAR models. The models obtained were able to rationally describe the affinity trends resulting from biological testing and to enable investigation of the role of different substituents on the 8-azapurine scaffold, as well as the influence of the newly introduced fluorine atom on the benzyl moiety. The said QSAR models can also assist in the design of new compounds selectively active on A₁ adenosine receptors. Furthermore, a molecular docking study was carried out to assess hypothetical binding mode of N-[9-(ortho-fluorobenzyl)-2-phenyl-8-azapurin-6-yl]-amides to A₁ adenosine receptors.