The design and discovery of JDTic as a potent and selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist used the N-substituted trans-3,4-dimethyl-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)piperidine pharmacophore as the lead structure. In order to determine if the 3-methyl or 4-methyl groups were necessary in JDTic and JDTic analogs for antagonistic activity, compounds 4a-c, and 4d-f which have either the 3-methyl or both the 3- and 4-methyl groups removed, respectively, from JDTic and analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro opioid receptor antagonist activities using a [(35)S]GTPγS binding assay. Other ADME properties were also assessed for selected compounds. These studies demonstrated that neither the 3-methyl or 3,4-dimethyl groups present in JDTic and analogs are required to produce potent and selective κ opioid receptor antagonists.
Keywords: ADME properties; JDTic; Kappa antagonist; Opioids.
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