A series of piperazin-1-yl substituted unfused heterobiaryls was synthesized as ligands of the 5-HT₇ receptors. The goal of this project was to elucidate the structural features that affect the 5-HT₇ binding affinity of this class of compounds represented by the model ligand 4-(3-furyl)-2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)pyrimidine (2). The SAR studies included systematical structural changes of the pyrimidine core moiety in 2 to quinazoline, pyridine and benzene, changes of the 3-furyl group to other heteroaryl substituents, the presence of various analogs of the 4-methylpiperazin-1-yl group, as well as additional substitutions at positions 5 and 6 of the pyrimidine. Substitution of position 6 of the pyrimidine in the model ligand with an alkyl group results in a substantial increase of the binding affinity (note a change in position numbers due to the nomenclature rules). It was also demonstrated that 4-(3-furyl) moiety is crucial for the 5-HT₇ binding affinity of the substituted pyrimidines, although, the pyrimidine core can be replaced with a pyridine ring without a dramatic loss of the binding affinity. The selected ethylpyrimidine (12) and butylpyrimidine (13) analogs of high 5-HT₇ binding affinity showed antagonistic properties in cAMP functional test and varied selectivity profile-compound 12 can be regarded as a dual 5-HT₇/5-HT2AR ligand, and 13 as a multi-receptor (5-HT₇, 5-HT2A, 5-HT₆ and D₂) agent.
Keywords: 3-furyl; 5-HT; 5-HT7 receptor ligands; N-methylpiperazine; serotonin; structure-affinity relationships (SAR); synthesis.