The labeled ligand commonly employed in competition binding studies for melatonin receptor ligands, 2-[125I]iodomelatonin, showed slow dissociation with different half-lives at the two receptor subtypes. This may affect the operational measures of affinity constants, which at short incubation times could not be obtained in equilibrium conditions, and structure-activity relationships, as the Ki values of tested ligands could depend on either interaction at the binding site or the dissociation path. To address these issues, the kinetic and saturation binding parameters of 2-[125I]iodomelatonin as well as the competition constants for a series of representative ligands were measured at a short (2 h) and a long (20 h) incubation time. Concurrently, we simulated by molecular modeling the dissociation path of 2-iodomelatonin from MT1 and MT2 receptors and investigated the role of interactions at the binding site on the stereoselectivity observed for the enantiomers of the subtype-selective ligand UCM1014. We found that equilibrium conditions for 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding can be reached only with long incubation times, particularly for the MT2 receptor subtype, for which a time of 20 h approximates this condition. On the other hand, measured Ki values for a set of ligands including agonists, antagonists, nonselective, and subtype-selective compounds were not significantly affected by the length of incubation, suggesting that structure-activity relationships based on data collected at shorter time reflect different interactions at the binding site. Molecular modeling simulations evidenced that the slower dissociation of 2-iodomelatonin from the MT2 receptor can be related to the restricted mobility of a gatekeeper tyrosine along a lipophilic path from the binding site to the membrane bilayer. The enantiomers of the potent, MT2-selective agonist UCM1014 were separately synthesized and tested. Molecular dynamics simulations of the receptor-ligand complexes provided an explanation for their stereoselectivity as due to the preference shown by the eutomer at the binding site for the most abundant axial conformation adopted by the ligand in solution. These results suggest that, despite the slow-binding kinetics occurring for the labeled ligand, affinity measures at shorter incubation times give robust results consistent with known structure-activity relationships and with interactions taken at the receptor binding site.

The rising popularity of bioconjugate therapeutics has led to growing interest in late-stage functionalization (LSF) of peptide scaffolds. α,β-Unsaturated amino acids like dehydroalanine (Dha) derivatives have emerged as particularly useful structures, as the electron-deficient olefin moiety can engage in late-stage functionalization reactions, like a Giese-type reaction. Cheap and widely available building blocks like organohalides can be converted into alkyl radicals by means of photoinduced silane-mediated halogen-atom transfer (XAT) to offer a mild and straightforward methodology of alkylation. In this research, we present a metal-free strategy for the photochemical alkylation of dehydroalanine derivatives. Upon abstraction of a hydride from tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (TTMS) by an excited benzophenone derivative, the formed silane radical can undergo a XAT with an alkyl bromide to generate an alkyl radical. Consequently, the alkyl radical undergoes a Giese-type reaction with the Dha derivative, forming a new C(sp3)–C(sp3) bond. The reaction can be performed in a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution and shows post-functionalization prospects through pathways involving classical peptide chemistry.

Organic halides play a key role as building blocks in synthesis because of their low cost and wide availability. In recent years, halogen-atom transfer (XAT) has emerged as a reliable approach to exploit these substrates in radical processes. Herein, we report a hydroalkylation of electron-poor olefins using alkyl bromides based on a UVA-induced silane-mediated XAT reaction. Our protocol is operationally simple, displays a broad scope and does not require a photocatalyst. Flow technology was used to reduce the reaction times and scale the process. Notably, a two-step protocol, combining the XAT protocol with a subsequent Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction, has been developed to enable the allylation of C(sp3)–Br bonds.

Fluorescent ligands are imperative to many facets ofchemical biologyand medicinal chemistry. Herein, we report the syntheses of two fluorescentmelatonin-based derivatives as potential ligands of melatonin receptors.The two compounds, namely, 4-cyano and 4-formyl melatonin (4CN-MLTand 4CHO-MLT, respectively), which differ from melatonin by only two/threeatoms that are very compact in size, were prepared using the selectiveC3-alkylation of indoles with N-acetyl ethanolaminesinvolving the "borrowing hydrogen" strategy. These compoundsexhibit absorption/emission spectra that are red-shifted from thoseof melatonin. Binding studies on two melatonin receptor subtypes showedthat these derivatives have a modest affinity and selectivity ratio.

The MT2-selective melatonin receptor ligand UCM765 (N-(2-((3-methoxyphenyl)(phenyl)amino)ethyl)acetamide), showed interesting sleep inducing, analgesic and anxiolytic properties in rodents, but suffers from low water solubility and modest metabolic stability. To overcome these limitations, different strategies were investigated, including modification of metabolically liable sites, introduction of hydrophilic substituents and design of more basic derivatives. Thermodynamic solubility, microsomal stability and lipophilicity of new compounds were experimentally evaluated, together with their MT1 and MT2 binding affinities. Introduction of a m-hydroxymethyl substituent on the phenyl ring of UCM765 and replacement of the replacement of the N,N-diphenyl-amino scaffold with a N-methyl-N-phenyl-amino one led to highly soluble compounds with good microsomal stability and receptor binding affinity. Docking studies into the receptor crystal structure provided a rationale for their binding affinity. Pharmacokinetic characterization in rats highlighted higher plasma concentrations for the N-methyl-N-phenyl-amino derivative, consistent with its improved microsomal stability and makes this compound worthy of consideration for further pharmacological investigation.

A general two-step approach to enantiopure bromotryptophans from unprotected bromoindoles has been developed. Indole nucleophiles prepared with MeMgCl in the presence of CuCl reacted with cyclic sulfamidates derived from enantiopure D-serine to form 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-bromo-D-tryptophan and some other halogenated tryptophans in moderate yields but with complete regioselectivity. The bromotryptophan derivatives were deprotected using mild conditions. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.