Studies on novel pyridine and 2-pyridone derivatives of N-arylpiperazine as α-adrenoceptor ligands.

This paper describes the synthesis of a series of new N-arylpiperazine derivatives of pyridine and 2-pyridone. The in vitro pharmacological study indicated that all of the compounds possess affinity towards α1-adrenoceptors, with exception of 6d, and are selective over α2 receptor. The most potent compound 5f displayed 62-fold α2/α1 selectivity with Ki value of 27.3 nM for α1 receptor. Selectivity of other ligands ranged from 6 to more than 146-fold. Hydrochlorides of selected compounds with the best α1-adrenoceptor affinity (7b, 7e, 7f, 8b) were tested in vivo (hypotensive activity test in rats) and the results proved their α-adrenoreceptor antagonistic activity. Furthermore, the lipophilicity of the investigated compounds has been assessed experimentally and in silico.