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Updated: Sep 1, 2025

Electrochemical Detection of Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effect on Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1
Published on: April 16, 2018
An Unexpected Deuterium-Induced Metabolic Switch in Doxophylline
Silvio Aprile1, Giorgia Colombo1, Marta Serafini1
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy.
Abstract:
Precision deuteration has become part of the medicinal chemist's toolbox, but its usefulness can be undermined by unpredictable metabolic switch effects. Herein we report the deuteration of doxophylline, a drug used in the treatment of asthma and COPD that undergoes extensive oxidative metabolism. Labeling of the main metabolic soft spots triggered an unexpected multidirectional metabolic switch that, while not improving the pharmacokinetic parameters, changed the metabolic scenario and, in turn, the pharmacodynamic features in two murine models of lung injury.
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