High power generation of THz from 1550-nm photoconductive emitters

Two photoconductive emitters - one with a self-complementary square spiral antenna, and the other with a resonant slot antenna - were fabricated on a GaAs epilayer embedded with ErAs quantum dots. Driven with 1550 nm mode-locked lasers, ~117 μW broadband THz power was generated from the device with the spiral antenna, and ~1.2 μW from the device with resonant slot antenna. The optical-to-THz conversion is through extrinsic photoconductivity.

Synthesis and pharmacological characterization of novel druglike corticotropin-releasing factor 1 antagonists

To identify new CRF(1) receptor antagonists, an attempt to modify the bis-heterocycle moiety present in the top region of the dihydropyrrole[2,3]pyridine template was made following new pharmacophoric hypothesis on the CRF(1) receptor antagonists binding pocket. In particular, the 2-thiazole ring, present in the previous series of compounds, was replaced by more hydrophilic non aromatic heterocycles able to make appropriate H-bond interactions with amino acid residues Thr192 and Tyr195. This exploration, followed by an accurate analysis of the substitution of the pendant aryl ring, enabled to identify in vitro potent compounds showing excellent pharmacokinetics and outstanding in vivo activity in animal models of anxiety, both in rodents and primates.

From pyrroles to 1-oxo-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-β-carbolines: A new class of orally bioavailable mGluR1 antagonists

Exploiting the SAR of the known pyrrole derivatives, a new class of mGluR1 antagonists was designed by replacement of the pyrrole core with an indole scaffold and consequent cyclization of the C-2 position into a tricyclic beta-carboline template. The appropriate exploration of the position C-6 with a combination of H-bond acceptor groups coupled with bulky/lipophilic moieties led to the discovery of a new series of mGluR1 antagonists. These compounds exhibited a non-competitive behavior, excellent pharmacokinetic properties, and good in vivo activity in animal models of acute and chronic pain, after oral administration.