skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Allyl m-Trifluoromethyldiazirine Mephobarbital: An Unusually Potent Enantioselective and Photoreactive Barbiturate General Anesthetic

Journal Article · · J. Med. Chem.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jm300631e· OSTI ID:1048552

We synthesized 5-allyl-1-methyl-5-(m-trifluoromethyl-diazirynylphenyl)barbituric acid (14), a trifluoromethyldiazirine-containing derivative of general anesthetic mephobarbital, separated the racemic mixture into enantiomers by chiral chromatography, and determined the configuration of the (+)-enantiomer as S by X-ray crystallography. Additionally, we obtained the {sup 3}H-labeled ligand with high specific radioactivity. R-(-)-14 is an order of magnitude more potent than the most potent clinically used barbiturate, thiopental, and its general anesthetic EC{sub 50} approaches those for propofol and etomidate, whereas S-(+)-14 is 10-fold less potent. Furthermore, at concentrations close to its anesthetic potency, R-(-)-14 both potentiated GABA-induced currents and increased the affinity for the agonist muscimol in human {alpha}1{beta}2/3{gamma}2L GABA{sub A} receptors. Finally, R-(-)-14 was found to be an exceptionally efficient photolabeling reagent, incorporating into both {alpha}1 and {beta}3 subunits of human {alpha}1{beta}3 GABAA receptors. These results indicate R-(-)-14 is a functional general anesthetic that is well-suited for identifying barbiturate binding sites on Cys-loop receptors.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
NIGMS
OSTI ID:
1048552
Journal Information:
J. Med. Chem., Vol. 55, Issue (14) ; 07, 2012; ISSN 0022-2623
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

Similar Records

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of neurosteroid photoaffinity ligands
Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · OSTI ID:1048552

A Unitary Anesthetic-Binding Site at High Resolution
Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Biological Chemistry · OSTI ID:1048552

GABA{sub A} receptor open-state conformation determines non-competitive antagonist binding
Journal Article · Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology · OSTI ID:1048552