Hydroxyalkylation with cyclic sulfates: synthesis of carbazole derived CB(2) ligands with increased polarity

In order to increase the polarity of the potent CB2 ligand 1a, the homologous hydroxyalkyl carbazoles 2a-c were prepared and pharmacologically evaluated. An important step in the synthesis is the hydroxyalkylation of carbazole with cyclic sulfates providing the 2-hydroxyethyl and 3-hydroxypropyl derivatives 5a and 5b in a one-step reaction. The final propionamides 2a-c were prepared using the recently reported coupling reagent COMU®. The X-ray crystal structure of 2c displays an almost coplanar arrangement of the 3-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole biaryl system. The increased polarity of 2a is associated with an almost 100-fold reduced CB2 affinity. The 3-hydroxypropyl derivative 2b represents the best compromise between lipophilicity and CB2 affinity (Ki  = 33 nM).