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Updated: Jun 8, 2025

Preparation of Stable Bicyclic Aziridinium Ions and Their Ring-Opening for the Synthesis of Azaheterocycles
Published on: August 22, 2018
Exploring the reactivity of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates to access new imidazoline I2 receptor ligands
Andrea Bagán1, Sònia Abás1, Judith Palà-Pujadas1
1Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry (Associated Unit to CSIC), Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), University of Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, 27-31, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Recent studies pointed out the modulation of imidazoline I2 receptors (I2-IR) by selective ligands as a putative strategy to face neurodegenerative diseases. Foregoing the classical 2-imidazoline/imidazole-containing I2-IR ligands, we report a family of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates endowed with high affinity and selectivity upon I2-IR and we advanced a representative compound B06 in preclinical phases. In this paper, we describe the synthetic possibilities of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates by exploring its ambivalent reactivity, leading to unprecedented molecules that showed promising activities as I2-IR ligands in human brain tissues and good BBB permeation capabilities. After in silico ADME prediction studies, we assessed the neuroprotective properties of selected compounds and beneficial effect in an in vitro model of Alzheimeŕs and Parkinson's disease. Along with their neuroprotective effect, compounds showed a potent anti-inflammatory response when evaluated in a neuroinflammation cellular model. Moreover, this is the first time that the neuroprotective effects of imidazoline I2-IR ligands in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease Caenorhabditis elegans strain are investigated. Using a thrashing assay, we found a significant cognition improvement in this in vivo model after treatment with the new bicyclic α-phosphoprolines. Therefore, our results confirmed the need of exploring structurally new I2-IR ligands and their potential for therapeutic strategies in neurodegeneration.
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