Studies on the Structure-Activity Relationship of the Basic Amine of Phenylpiperazines as Melanocortin-4 Receptor Antagonists

Bench-top to clinical therapies: A review of melanocortin ligands from 1954 to 2016

The discovery of the endogenous melanocortin agonists in the 1950s have resulted in sixty years of melanocortin ligand research. Early efforts involved truncations or select modifications of the naturally occurring agonists leading to the development of many potent and selective ligands. With the identification and cloning of the five known melanocortin receptors, many ligands were improved upon through bench-top in vitro assays. Optimization of select properties resulted in ligands adopted as clinical candidates. A summary of every melanocortin ligand is outside the scope of this review. Instead, this review will focus on the following topics: classic melanocortin ligands, selective ligands, small molecule (non-peptide) ligands, ligands with sex-specific effects, bivalent and multivalent ligands, and ligands advanced to clinical trials. Each topic area will be summarized with current references to update the melanocortin field on recent progress. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Melanocortin Receptors - edited by Ya-Xiong Tao.

New general synthesis of α-alkoxyketones via α'-alkylation, α-alkylation and α,α'-dialkylation of α-alkoxyketimines

α-Methoxy- and α-ethoxyketones, as important intermediates in organic synthesis and flavor compounds in food chemistry, were synthesized by deprotonation of N-(1-alkoxy-2-propylidene)isopropylamine, prepared by condensation of the corresponding α-alkoxyacetone with isopropylamine, and subsequent reaction of the corresponding 1-azaallylic anions with alkyl halides to afford α'-alkylated, α-alkylated and α,α'-dialkylated ketimines. Hydrolysis of the imino function led to the desired substituted α-alkoxyketones. The ratio of α-, α'-, and α,α'-(di)alkylated compounds depended on the amount of base used and on the nature of the alkylating reagent.