Determination of enantiomeric excess of nipecotic acid as 1-(7-nitrobenzo[c][1,2,5]oxadiazol-4-yl) derivatives

Chiral secondary amino acids, their importance, and methods of analysis

Naturally occurring secondary amino acids, with proline as the main representative, contain an alpha-imino group in a cycle that is typically four-, five-, and six-membered. The unique ring structure exhibits exceptional properties-conformational rigidity, chemical stability, and specific roles in protein structure and folding. Many proline analogues have been used as valuable compounds for the study of metabolism of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and for the synthesis of compounds with desired biological, pharmaceutical, or industrial properties. The D-forms of secondary amino acids play different roles in living organisms than the L-forms. They have different metabolic pathways, biological, physiological, and pharmacological effects, they can be indicators of changes and also serve as biomarkers of diseases. In the scientific literature, the number of articles examining D-amino acids in biological samples is increasing. The review summarises information on the occurrence and importance of D- and L-secondary amino acids-azetidic acid, proline, hydroxyprolines, pipecolic, nipecotic, hydroxypipecolic acids and related peptides containing these D-AAs, as well as the main analytical methods (mostly chromatographic) used for their enantiomeric determination in different matrices (biological samples, plants, food, water, and soil).

A chiral GC-MS method for analysis of secondary amino acids after heptafluorobutyl chloroformate & methylamine derivatization

L-amino acids (L-AAs) play different important roles in the physiology of all living organisms. Their chiral counterparts, D-amino acids (D-AAs) are increasingly being recognized as essential molecules in many biological systems. Secondary amino acids with cyclic structures, such as prolines, exhibit conformational rigidity and thus unique properties in the structural and protein folding. Despite their widespread occurrence, much less attention was paid to their chiral analysis, particularly when the minor, typically D-enantiomer, is present in low amounts in a complex biological matrix. In this paper, a cost-effective, chiral GC-MS method is described for capillary Chirasil-L-Val separation of nine cyclic secondary amino acid enantiomers with four-, five-, and six-membered rings, involving azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, pipecolic acid, nipecotic acid, proline, isomeric cis/trans 3-hydroxy, 4-hydroxyproline, and cis/trans-5-hydroxy-L-pipecolic acid in the excess of its enantiomeric antipode. The sample preparation involves in-situ derivatization with heptafluorobutyl chloroformate, simultaneous liquid-liquid micro-extraction into isooctane followed by amidation of the arising low-polar derivatives with methylamine, an evaporation step, re-dissolution, and final GC-MS analysis. The developed method was used for analyses of human biofluids, biologically active peptides containing chiral proline constituents, and collagen.

GRID-independent molecular descriptor analysis and molecular docking studies to mimic the binding hypothesis of γ-aminobutyric acid transporter 1 (GAT1) inhibitors

Background

The γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter GAT1 is involved in GABA transport across the biological membrane in and out of the synaptic cleft. The efficiency of this Na⁺ coupled GABA transport is regulated by an electrochemical gradient, which is directed inward under normal conditions. However, in certain pathophysiological situations, including strong depolarization or an imbalance in ion homeostasis, the GABA influx into the cytoplasm is increased by re-uptake transport mechanism. This mechanism may lead to extra removal of extracellular GABA which results in numerous neurological disorders such as epilepsy. Thus, small molecule inhibitors of GABA re-uptake may enhance GABA activity at the synaptic clefts.

Methods

In the present study, various GRID-independent molecular descriptor (GRIND) models have been developed to shed light on the 3D structural features of human GAT1 (hGAT1) inhibitors using nipecotic acid and N-diarylalkenyl piperidine analogs. Further, a binding hypothesis has been developed for the selected GAT1 antagonists by molecular docking inside the binding cavity of hGAT1 homology model.

Results

Our results indicate that two hydrogen bond acceptors, one hydrogen bond donor and one hydrophobic region at certain distances from each other play an important role in achieving high inhibitory potency against hGAT1. Our docking results elucidate the importance of the COOH group in hGAT1 antagonists by considering substitution of the COOH group with an isoxazol ring in compound 37, which subsequently leads to a three order of magnitude decrease in biological activity of 37 (IC₅₀ = 38 µM) as compared to compound 1 (IC₅₀ = 0.040 µM).

Discussion

Our docking results are strengthened by the structure activity relationship of the data series as well as by GRIND models, thus providing a significant structural basis for understanding the binding of antagonists, which may be useful for guiding the design of hGAT1 inhibitors.