Fluorination lipophilicity

Experience in PTC with cationic catalysts showed that, in general, the most suitable compounds have symmetrical structures, are lipophilic, and have the active cationic charge centrally located or sterically shielded by substituents. For anionic catalysis sodium tetraphenylborate fulfills these conditions, but it is not stable under acidic conditions. However, certain derivatives of this compound, namely sodium tetra-kis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (TFPB, 12.162) and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis-(l,l,l,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methoxy-2-propyl)phenyl]borate (HFPB) are sufficiently stable to be used as PTC catalysts for azo coupling reactions (Iwamoto et al., 1983b 1984 Nishida et al., 1984). These fluorinated tetraphenylborates were found to catalyze strongly azo coupling reactions, some of which were carried out with the corresponding diazotization in situ. 

Lipophilicity is an important consideration in the design of biologically active compounds because it often controls absorption, transport, or receptor binding that is, it is a property that can enhance the bioavailability of a compound. The presence of fluorine in a substituent gives rise to enhanced lipophilicity. 

The development of synthetic methods for the selective introduction of short-chain perfluoroalkyl groups into organic molecules is of interest in drug development [464]. Fluoromodifications often confer unique properties on a molecule, for example in terms of increased metabolic stability and lipophilicity and, as a consequence, the pharmacokinetic profiles are often improved [465]. Burger and coworkers developed a domino process consisting of a SN reaction combined with a Claisen and a Cope rearrangement which allows the transformation of simple fluorinated compounds into more complex molecules with fluoro atoms [466]. Treatment of furan 2-917 with 2-hydroxymethyl thiophene (2-918) in the presence... 

The incorporation of fluorine into a molecule has been widely used to alter the pharmacokinetic properties and overall drug-like properties of compounds. This includes affecting the metabolism, oral absorption, and brain penetration of these molecules [18]. Metabolism can be affected by addition of fluorine directly at or adjacent to the site of metabolism. In addition, substitution with fluorine can increase the lipophilicity of compounds which has been shown to dramatically affect both oral absorption and brain penetration. Finally, the electron-withdrawing characteristic of fluorine has been exploited to lower the P-gp liability of compounds and modulate the pKa of adjacent groups which resulted in increased brain exposure. In the following section, representative examples will highlight the powerful nature of fluorine to modulate overall drug-like properties. 

Macromolecules have also been specifically designed and synthesized for use as emulsifiers for lipophilic materials and as stabilizers in the colloidal dispersion of lipophilic, hydrocarbon polymers in C02. We have demonstrated the amphiphilicity of fluorinated acrylate homopolymers, such as PFOA, which contain a lipophilic, acrylate like backbone and C02-philic, fluorinated side chains (see Fig. 3) [103]. It has been demonstrated that a homopolymer which physically adsorbs to the surface of a polymer colloid prevents agglomeration by the presence of loops and tails (see Fig. 4) [113]. The synthesis of this type of... 

In 1994, we reported the dispersion polymerization of MM A in supercritical C02 [103]. This work represents the first successful dispersion polymerization of a lipophilic monomer in a supercritical fluid continuous phase. In these experiments, we took advantage of the amphiphilic nature of the homopolymer PFOA to effect the polymerization of MMA to high conversions (>90%) and high degrees of polymerization (> 3000) in supercritical C02. These polymerizations were conducted in C02 at 65 °C and 207 bar, and AIBN or a fluorinated derivative of AIBN were employed as the initiators. The results from the AIBN initiated polymerizations are shown in Table 3. The spherical polymer particles which resulted from these dispersion polymerizations were isolated by simply venting the C02 from the reaction mixture. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the product consisted of spheres in the pm size range with a narrow particle size distribution (see Fig. 7). In contrast, reactions which were performed in the absence of PFOA resulted in relatively low conversion and molar masses. Moreover, the polymer which resulted from these precipitation... 

The model that utilized regression analysis was one that built upon previous work by the same authors [36,39]. In this case, the dataset was expanded to 125-129 drugs and the number of assessed descriptors increased to 210. Models for acidic and basic compounds were developed separately as well as a model using all compounds, and the advantages of analyzing acids and bases separately were minimal. Mean-fold errors were generally around 1.8. Descriptors that dominated the models included lipophilicity, fraction anionic or cationic, surface electrostatic potential, and parameters specific to aliphatic carbons and fluorine. 

A further important issue is the balance between the perfluoroalkane and the alkane part in the RFRH molecules and the branching ratio in both these compartments. This is of special importance if penetration processes into tissues must be taken into consideration. Especially low molecular weight species or partial fluorinated liquids with their distinctly higher lipophilic potential as PFCLs can easily penetrate tissues. 

Fig. 16. Schematic representation of a fluorinated vesicle obtained from perfluoroalkylated phospholipids showing separated nanometer-thick domains within their bilayer membrane. The central hydrophobic and lipophobic fluorous core of the membrane is flanked by two lipophilic shells, then by the hydrophilic outermost and innermost layers of polar heads [4].

In Section 1.3, the general effects of fluorine substitution on drug activity and selectivity have been treated. As seen frequently with other enzymatic reactions, introduction of fluorine can have dramatic effects on the properties of substrates and inhibitors of MAOs [26]. For example, preliminary studies indicated that fluorination of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the 6- or the 4,6-positions (3,4) causes this predominantly MAO A substrate to be metabolized significantly by platelet MAO B [27]. Although no direct evidence was obtained, this may be caused by increased lipophilicity introduced by fluorine substitution. 

As discussed above, many cyclopropylamines are good inhibitors of MAOs. In addition, as discussed in Section 3.2, fluorine substitution had substantial effects on the inhibition of MAOs by such analogues as allylamines. We undertook a broadly based study of the effects of fluorine substituted on the cyclopropyl ring of cyclopropyl amines on potency and selectivity of amine oxidase inhibition. In addition to effects on amine pKg and lipophilicity, we expected additional consequences resulting from altered geometry and ring strain due to the presence of fluorine. 

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