Potency enantiomers

Although most anesthetics are achiral or are adininistered as racemic mixture, the anesthetic actions are stereoselective. This property can define a specific, rather than a nonspecific, site of action. Stereoselectivity is observed for such barbiturates as thiopental, pentobarbital, and secobarbital. The (3)-enantiomer is modestly more potent (56,57). Additionally, the volatile anesthetic isoflurane also shows stereoselectivity. The (3)-enantiomer is the more active (58). Further evidence that proteins might serve as appropriate targets for general anesthetics come from observations that anesthetics inhibit the activity of the enzyme luciferase. The potencies parallel the anesthetic activities closely (59,60). 

Dezocine (30) represents a class of bridged aminotetralins possessing morphine-like analgesic properties. It appears to be roughly equivalent in potency and addiction potential to morphine. The molecule combines molecular features of precedent aminotetralins and benzomor-phans and its structure fits the classical Morphine Rule. The 1-enantiomer is the more active and the p-epimer (equatorial NHj) is the active diastereomer. 

Using synthetic enantiomers, we found that anatoxin-a is highly stereospecific with the (+) isomer having 150-fold greater potency than the (-) isomer (Figure 2) 19). The semi-rigid nature of anatoxin-a undoubtedly facilitates its stereospecificity. 

Quinolones possessing a 7-(3-aminopyrrolidin-l-yl) substituent are particularly potent antibacterial agents. However, they often have very low solubility. Based on the observations that the hydroxymethylpyrrolidine (38) is significantly more potent against bacteria than its enantiomer (39) (the hydroxymethyl substituent in (39) apparently has a deleterious effect on activity while the same substituent in (38) has little effect on potency based on comparisons with the unsubstituted pyrrolidine analogue (40)) [84] and the enantiomer (41) is at least as potent as,... 

A prototypical series of monocyclic and tricyclic agents with potency in the nalidixic acid - oxolinic acid range has been reported [89]. The enantiomers of the tricycle (55), which lacks the ring fused to the 5- and 6-positions of the pyridine portion common to most quinolones, have been evaluated in vitro, and... 

In general, ketones, alcohols and ethers of formula (3) showed comparable protection against cisplatin-induced emesis in the dog and ferret with that of metoclopramide. Erythro (cis) alcohols (3c, 3g, 3i) were found to be more potent than the corresponding threo-(trans) isomers (3d, 3h, 3j). Optical isomer (.R) (3e) was found to be somewhat more potent than its (S )-enantiomer (3f) as an antagonist of cisplatin-induced emesis in the ferret. In the dog, both isomers showed similar activity. A number of heterocyclic analogues were also studied but with the exception of (3k), all were inferior in potency as antiemetic agents compared with other compounds (3) shown in Table 7.1. Lead compound, BMY 25801, batanopride, (3a) is presently under clinical investigation. 

Zhang YH, Chen XQ, Yang HH, et al, Similar potency of the enantiomers of huperzine A in inhibition of [H-3]dizocilpine (MK-801) binding in rat cerebral cortex, Neuroscience Lett 295 116—118, 2000. 

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