Cardiotonic agents. 1. Novel 8-aryl-substituted imidazo[1,2-a]- and -[1,5-a]pyridines and imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinones as potential positive inotropic agents

Several 8-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines, 8-arylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridines, and 8-arylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridinones were prepared and tested in vitro for potential cardiac inotropic and electrophysiological activity. Selected analogues were further tested in vivo in canine hemodynamic and cardiac electrophysiology models. Compounds having an imidazole substituent consistently showed activity. A pharmacophoric relationship between heterocycle-phenyl-imidazole and positive inotropic activity was noted. The significance of this relationship is discussed.     

Antiulcer agents. 3. Structure-activity-toxicity relationships of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and a related imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine

Investigation of the interrelationship between structure, antiulcer activity, and toxicology screening data derived from a series of compounds selected from structure-activity studies directed toward identifying a successor to 3-(cyanomethyl)-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, Sch 28080 (1), has identified 3-(cyanomethyl)-2,7-dimethyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2 -a]pyridine (5), 3-amino-2-methyl-8-(2-phenylethyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (6), and 3-amino-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine (7). These analogues exhibit a combination of antisecretory and cytoprotective activity in animal models, while eliminating the adverse effects of the prototype 1. One of these, 3-amino-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine, Sch 32651 (7), has a profile meeting all criteria.     

Synthesis and biological activity of 3-substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines as antiulcer agents

New imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines substituted at the 3-position have been synthesized as potential antisecretory and cytoprotective antiulcer agents. The synthetic routes began with cyclization of aminopyridines 5a,b and chloro ketones 6a,b to give imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines 7-9. The side chain at the 3-position was elaborated to give primary amines 12a-c, which were treated with either butoxyaminocyclobutenedione 13 or methoxyaminothiadiazole 1-oxide (15) to give 14a,b and 16a-c, respectively. Thiadiazole 1-oxides 16a-c were converted to thiadiazoles 19a-c in a two-step process which involved extrusion of the sulfoxide in 16a-c to afford diimidamides 17a-c, which were subsequently treated with thiobisphthalimide (18). None of the compounds displayed significant antisecretory activity in the gastric fistula rat model, but several demonstrated good cytoprotective properties in both the EtOH and HCl models. 8-(Benzyloxy)-3-[1-[[2-[(4-amino-1,2,5-thiadiazol-3- yl)amino]ethyl]thio]ethyl]-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (19c) showed comparable cytoprotective activity to SCH-28080 (4).     

Synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives as antiviral agents

The synthesis and antiviral activity of original dibromoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines bearing a thioether side chain are reported. Molecular modeling was used to identify biophoric structural patterns that are common to 16 compounds. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies identified hydrophobicity (logP) as the most important factor for activity. From these SAR studies, the antiviral activity could be predicted.     

Recent progress in the pharmacology of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine is a bicyclic system with a bridgehead nitrogen atom, of growing interest in medicinal chemistry. The paper deals with the recent progress realised in the comprehension of the pharmacological properties of this scaffold. From the many imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine analogues described in the literature, those discussed herein will be presented in three parts concerning first the enzyme inhibitors, then the receptor ligands and finally the anti-infectious agents.     

Antiulcer agents. 1. Gastric antisecretory and cytoprotective properties of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

A novel class of antiulcer agents, the substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines, is described. The present compounds are not histamine (H2) receptor antagonists nor are they prostaglandin analogues, yet they exhibit both gastric antisecretory and cytoprotective properties. The mechanism of gastric antisecretory activity may involve inhibition of the H+/K+-ATPase enzyme. Structure-activity studies led to the identification of 3-(cyanomethyl)-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, SCH 28080 (27), which was selected for further development and clinical evaluation.     

Synthesis and oral antiallergic activity of carboxylic acids derived from imidazo[2,1-c][1,4]benzoxazines, imidazo[1,2-a]quinolines, imidazo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, imidazo[1,2-a]quinoxalinones, pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalinones, pyrrolo[2,3-a]quinoxalinones, and imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles

4H-Imidazo[2,1-c][1,4]benzoxazine-2-carboxylic acid (3) was found to possess potent activity in the IgE-induced rat passive cutaneous anaphylaxis model which may be predictive of clinical antiallergic activity. Compared to disodium cromoglycate (DSCG, 1), 3 was less active following iv administration but unlike DSCG showed very significant oral activity. To explore the structural requirements for this activity, a range of tricyclic compounds was prepared and their activities were measured. Individual 2-carboxylic acids derived from imidazo[1,2-a]quinolines, imidazo[1,2-a]quinoxalines, imidazo[1,2-a]quinoxalinones, pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalinones, pyrrolo[2,3-a]quinoxalinones, and imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazoles showed iv activities up to 10(3) times as potent as DSCG and many of them showed significant oral activity. From these, imidazo[1,2-a]quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid 114 has been chosen for further development.     

Synthesis and evaluation of 7H-8,9-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines as potassium-competitive acid blockers

7H-8,9-Dihydropyrano[2,3-c]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with excellent physicochemical and pharmacological properties were identified that represent interesting candidates for further development as potassium-competitive acid blockers (P-CABs). The title compounds were prepared following synthetic pathways that relied either on a Claisen rearrangement/cross-metathesis reaction or on the (asymmetric) reduction of prochiral ketones. The influence of the character of the substituents R3, R6, and Ar on the biological activity and the physicochemical properties of the target compounds was examined. In contrast to the parent system (R6 = H), compounds in which R6 represents a carboxamide residue generally show improved in vivo activity and favorable pKa/log D values. Whereas variation of R3 is useful to obtain target compounds with modified basicity and lipophilicity, strong inhibition of the H+/K+-ATPase and potent in vivo activity is observed for R3 = methyl only. Small modifications of the aryl group, e.g., replacement of hydrogen versus a fluoro atom or a methyl group, are allowed. The (9S)-enantiomers are responsible for the gastric acid secretion inhibiting action, whereas the (9R)-enantiomers are virtually inactive.     

Structure-activity relationship of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines as ligands for detecting beta-amyloid plaques in the brain

A series of novel beta-amyloid (A beta) aggregate-specific ligands, 2-(4'-dimethylaminophenyl)-6-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, 16(IMPY), and its related derivatives were prepared. An in vitro binding study with preformed A beta aggregates showed that 16(IMPY) and its bromo derivative competed with binding of 2-(4'-dimethylaminophenyl)-6-iodobenzothiazole, [125I]7(TZDM), a known ligand for A beta aggregates, with high binding affinities (K(i) = 15 and 10 nM, respectively). In vitro autoradiography of brain sections of a transgenic mouse (Tg2576) with [125I]16(IMPY) displayed high selective binding to amyloid-like structures, comparable to that observed by staining with thioflavin-S visualized under fluorescence. In vivo biodistribution after an intravenous injection of [125I]16(IMPY) in normal mice showed a high initial brain uptake and fast washout, indicating a low background activity associated with this iodinated ligand. Taken together, the data suggests that [123I]16(IMPY) may be useful for imaging A beta aggregates in patients with Alzheimer's disease.     

Synthesis of potential anticancer agents: imidazo[4,5-c]pyridines and imidazo[4,5-b]pyridines

The 1,2-dihydropyrido[3,4-b]pyrazines (1) are mitotic inhibitors with significant antitumor activity in mice. Also, the active imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine 3 was shown to cause the accumulation of cells at mitosis. Routes were developed for the synthesis of congeners of 3 by cyclization of 4-(substituted amino)-5,6-diaminopyridines with ethyl orthoformate. Oxidative cyclization of either 4,5- or 5,6-diaminopyridines with aryl aldehydes produced the [4,5-c] and [4,5-b] imidazopyridine ring systems, respectively. The latter reaction with 6-(substituted amino)-4,5-diaminopyridines gave imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine ring analogues of 1. Biological studies indicated that the target compounds were less active than 1 and 3.     

Synthesis and antiviral activity of novel erythrofuranosyl imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine C-nucleosides constructed via palladium coupling of iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and dihydrofuran

2,5,6-Trichloro-1-(beta-d-ribofuranosyl)benzimidazole (TCRB) and certain analogues have shown significant activity against human cytomegalovirus. The metabolic instability of the glycosidic linkage in TCRB prompted us to synthesize the structurally similar imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine erythrofuranosyl C-nucleosides. As an approach to the synthesis of polychlorinated imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine C-3-erythrofuranosides, a palladium-based methodology for coupling 2,3-dihydrofuran with chlorinated 3-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines was developed and optimized to give 80-90% yields of 2,6-dichloro- and 2,6,7-trichloro-3-(2,3-dideoxy-2,3-didehydro-d/l-erythrofuranosyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine. Dihydroxylation of these didehydro derivatives with osmium tetroxide or with AD-mix alpha gave a mixture of erythrofuranosyl C-nucleosides that were separated by standard and then chiral chromatography. When screened for anti-HCMV and HSV-1 activity, the alpha-d anomer of 2,6,7-trichloro-3-(erythrofuranosyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine proved to be the most active member of the series, while the beta-anomers all proved to be inactive.     

Antiulcer agents. 4. Conformational considerations and the antiulcer activity of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and related analogues

Definition of the interrelationship between the conformational characteristics of a series of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and their antiulcer activity was investigated by examining the conformational properties of 3-cyano-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (1), using a variety of experimental and theoretical methods. The results of these studies was the identification of two distinctly different candidates, designated the "folded" and the "extended" conformation, respectively, to represent the two possible minimum-energy conformations of 1. In order to select the biologically relevant conformer, a group of 3-substituted 2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines, having either a cis or a trans 2-phenylethenyl substituent at the 8-position were designed as conceptually simple and synthetically accessible semirigid analogues of the respective candidate conformers. Gastric antisecretory activity was found to reside only in the trans isomers (compounds 11, 15, and 17), which mimic the "extended" conformation. This observation led to the construction of 8,9-dihydro-2-methyl-9-phenyl-7H-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrano[2,3-c]pyridi ne-3- acetonitrile (40), a rigid tricyclic analogue that is effectively locked in the "extended" conformation and that exhibited an antiulcer profile comparable to that of prototype 1. These results unequivocally demonstrate that, in accord with expectation for a drug operating at a specific receptor, the conformational characteristics of the molecule have a substantial effect in determining its antiulcer activity. More precisely, it has been demonstrated that it is the "extended" conformation of 1 that represents the "bioactive" form of the drug. These results constitute the basis for a molecular probe that should aid in the investigation of the as yet uncharacterized gastric proton pump enzyme (H+/K+-ATPase), by means of which 1 and its analogues presumably exert their pharmacologic actions.     

Antiulcer agents. 2. Gastric antisecretory, cytoprotective, and metabolic properties of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and analogues

The search for a successor to 3-(cyanomethyl)-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, Sch 28080 (27), a compound that exhibits gastric antisecretory and cytoprotective properties and has undergone clinical evaluation as an antiulcer agent, has culminated in the identification of four related compounds that exhibit pharmacologic profiles similar to that of 27. In three of these potential successors an amino group functions as a surrogate for the 3-cyanomethyl substituent of the prototype. The present work concerns, in addition to an evaluation of the structure-activity relationships of a series of analogues of 27, preliminary studies of the pharmacodynamics and metabolism of 27, performed with the aid of cyano carbon labeled versions of the drug (13C labeled; 28; 14C labeled, 29). These studies have shown that 27 is well-absorbed and extensively metabolized and that the major metabolite of 27 is the thiocyanate anion. A similar study performed on 3-amino-2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, labeled at the 3-position with carbon-13 (41) or carbon-14 (42), revealed that this compound, which has an antisecretory/cytoprotective profile comparable to that of 27, is also metabolized to thiocyanate anion, although this must occur via a different mechanism. The chemistry section includes a discussion of the potential sites of protonation of the pharmacologically similar 3-amino analogue 40 and the structurally related imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine 67. Predictions based on charge density and protonation product stabilities are presented. That N1 is the site of protonation in these analogues has been definitively demonstrated by X-ray crystal structure analysis, which also unequivocally established the assigned imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine ring structure.     

Synthesis of several new isoxazole,imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine,imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine,benzoxadiazine and benzothiazine derivatives from hydroximoyl halides

Furoylhydroximoyl chloride3 reacted with 2-aminopyridine, 2-aminopyrimidine,O-aminophenol,O-phenylenediamine and aminothiophenol to afford imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine6, imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine8, benzoxadiazine10, nitrosobenzopyrazine13a and nitrosobenzothiazine13b, respectively. Isoxazoline18 and pyrrolidino[3,4-d]isoxazolin-4,6-dione derivatives19a and19b obtained by the reaction of3 with acrylonitrile and N-arylmaleimide. Hydroximoyl chloride3 reacted with thiophenol and sodium benzenesulfinate to yield furylglyoxaloxime16a and16b, respectively. Hydroximoyl chloride3 reacted also with some active methylene compound to give isoxazole derivatives20–23, respectively.     

Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines and imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines: the role of nitrogen position in inotropic activity

Congestive heart failure is a major medical problem for which existing medicaments have provided limited benefit. Recent new experimental drugs, including imidazo[4,5-b]- and imidazo[4,5-c]pyridines, have both inotropic and vasodilatory properties. Subtle changes in nitrogen position of these compounds have been shown to dramatically affect potency. We have synthesized a series of imidazo[4,5-b]- and -[4,5-c]pyridine analogues having an imidazo nitrogen relocated at the bridgehead position. The superior inotropic activity of the [4,5-c]pyridines as compared to [4,5-b]pyridines is reaffirmed by the activity of our analogues. The biological equivalence of imidazo[4,5-b]pyridines with imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines and imidazo[4,5-c]pyridines with imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines is demonstrated. Further, 2-[2-methoxy-4-(methylsulfenyl)phenyl]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine and 2-[2-methoxy-4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine are potent inotropic agents both in vitro and in vivo.     

Reactions with hydroxamoyl halides: Synthesis of several isoxazole,imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine,imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine and benz-1,2,4-triazine derivatives

Benzofuroylhydroxamoyl chloride ( 3 ) reacted with acrylonitrile, N-tolyl-maleimide and active methylene compounds to afford the isoxazoline 4 , the pyrrolidino[3,4-d]isoxazoline 5 and the isoxazole derivatives 6,7 , respectively. Nitrosoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines 10 and the imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine 12 were obtained by the reaction of 3 with 2-aminopyridine and 2-aminopyrimidine, respectively. 3 reacted also with o-phenylenediamine and o-aminothiophenol to give the dihydrobenztriazine 13 and the benzothiadiazine 15 , respectively.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives designed as mefloquine analogues

This paper describes the synthesis and the in vitro antimalarial profile of two new imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives 4HCl and 13HCl, structurally proposed as mefloquine (1) analogues, by exploring bioisosterism and molecular simplification tools. The synthetic route employed to access the title compounds used, as starting material, the previously described ethyl 2-methylimidazo[1,2-aJpyridine-3-carboxylate derivative (5). These novel heterocyclic derivatives 4HCl and 13HCl presented modest antimalarial activity against the W-2 and D-6 clones of Plasmodium falciparum as well as inhibitors of in vitro heme polymerization compared to mefloquine.