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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Microwave-assisted Intramolecular Dehydrogenative Diels-Alder Reactions for the Synthesis of Functionalized Naphthalenes/Solvatochromic Dyes
Published on: April 1, 2013
Design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of novel naphthalenic derivatives as selective MT(1) melatoninergic
Christophe Mésangeau1, Basile Pérès, Carole Descamps-François
1Univ Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France.
Abstract:
Novel heterodimer analogues of melatonin were synthesized, when agomelatine (1) and various aryl units are linked via a linear alkyl chain through the methoxy group. The compounds were tested for their actions at melatonin receptors. Several of these ligands are MT(1)-selective with nanomolar or subnanomolar affinity. In addition, while most of the derivatives behave as partial agonists on one or both receptor subtypes, N-[2-(7-{4-[6-(1-methoxycarbonylethyl)naphthalen-2-yloxy]butoxy}naphthalen-1-yl)ethyl]acetamide (36), a subnanomolar MT(1) ligand with an 11-fold preference over MT(2) receptors, is a full antagonist on both receptors. Our results also confirm that the selectivity seen for the MT(1) receptor arises predominantly from steric factors and is not a consequence of the bridging of melatonin receptor dimers.
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