Synthesis and Biological Studies of a Novel CB1 Antagonist

Tricyclic Pyrazole-Based Compounds as Useful Scaffolds for Cannabinoid CB1/CB2 Receptor Interaction

Cannabinoids comprise different classes of compounds, which aroused interest in recent years because of their several pharmacological properties. Such properties include analgesic activity, bodyweight reduction, the antiemetic effect, the reduction of intraocular pressure and many others, which appear correlated to the affinity of cannabinoids towards CB₁ and/or CB₂ receptors. Within the search aiming to identify novel chemical scaffolds for cannabinoid receptor interaction, the CB₁ antagonist/inverse agonist pyrazole-based derivative rimonabant has been modified, giving rise to several tricyclic pyrazole-based compounds, most of which endowed of high affinity and selectivity for CB₁ or CB₂ receptors. The aim of this review is to present the synthesis and summarize the SAR study of such tricyclic pyrazole-based compounds, evidencing, for some derivatives, their potential in the treatment of neuropathic pain, obesity or in the management of glaucoma.

Polysubstituted 3-trifluoromethylpyrazoles: regioselective (3 + 2)-cycloaddition of trifluoroacetonitrile imines with enol ethers and functional group transformations

Non-catalysed addition of trifluoroacetonitrile imines to enol ethers provided fully regioselectively (3 + 2)-cycloadducts, which either spontaneously or via Brønsted acid-induced elimination of ROH molecules led to the formation of 3-trifluoromethylated pyrazoles. In the case of 2,3-dihydrofuran, the respective bicyclic intermediate was isolated and its structure was confirmed by X-ray analysis. Using the developed protocol the synthesis of a known antitumor compound SC-560 was performed in 45% yield. Subsequent functionalisations of selected 4-(ω-hydroxyalkyl)pyrazoles at C(5) through lithiation/addition, cross-coupling reactions or via intramolecular Pd-catalysed C-H arylations opened up an access to polysubstituted pyrazoles including unusual tricyclic systems comprising 7-membered rings (oxepane, thiepane and azepane) as the central unit.