Modification of the lead molecule: Tryptophan and piperidine appended triazines reversing inflammation and hyeperalgesia in rats.

The structural optimization of the molecules making them to fit into the active site pocket of COX-2 occupying the same space as covered by the natural substrate arachidonic acid helped in the emergence of compound 10 as an efficacious anti-inflammatory agent. Selective for COX-2 over COX-1, compound 10 exhibited IC 0.02 µM for COX-2 and reversed acetic acid induced inflammation in rats by 73% when used at 10 mg kg dose and the same dose of the compound also rescued the animals from inflammatory phase of formalin induced hyperalgesia. As evidenced by the results of molecular modeling studies supported by the nuclear Overhauser enhancement data, the appropriate geometry of the molecule in the active site pocket of COX-2 contributing to its H-bond/hydrophobic interactions with Ser530, Trp387 and Tyr385 seems responsible for the enzyme inhibitory activity of the compound.