Derivatives of 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-aminotetralin

The title compounds were designed to provide semirigid congeners of m-tyramine in which the ring position ortho to the phenolic OH is blocked to metabolic hydroxylation. A sequence leading to a key synthetic intermediate, 5-methoxy-6-methyl-2-tetralone, has been developed. In animal test models for dopamine-like effects, the title compounds demonstrated qualitative and quantitative differences from the isomeric 5-methyl-6-hydroxy-2-aminotetralins and from 5,6-dihydroxy-2-aminotetralins. Two of the compounds were potent in a cat cardioaccelerator nerve assay, which involves dopamine receptors.