In this publication, we describe the synthesis of new inhibitors for the GABA transporter subtypes GAT1 and especially GAT3. We started with 3-aminopropanoic acid possessing a distinct preference for GAT3 in comparison to GAT1 and furthermore its homolog 3-aminobutanoic acid. A series of respective N-substituted amino acids was synthesized by selective N-monoalkylation of these parent structures with 6 different arylalkyl alcohols via a Mitsunobu-type reaction. The resulting compounds were investigated for their inhibitory potency GABA transporter subtypes. Among all tested compounds the 4,4-diphenylbut-3-enyl substituted 3-aminobutanoic acid (rac)-6b showed highest potency with a pIC50 value of 5.34 at GAT1. Unfortunately, the expected GAT3 potency for 2-[tris(4-methoxyphenyl)methoxy]ethyl substituted derivatives was not as high as observed for the respective nipecotic acid derivatives.
Keywords: Antiepileptic; BGT1; GABA uptake inhibitors; GAT1; GAT2; GAT3; Mitsunobu reaction; β-amino acids.
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