Tazomeline (LY-287,041) is a
drug
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhal ...
which acts as a non-
selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, or mAChRs, are acetylcholine receptors that form G protein-coupled receptor, G protein-coupled receptor complexes in the cell membranes of certain neurons and other Cell (biology), cells. They play several r ...
agonist
An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...
.
It was in
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...
s for the treatment of
cognitive dysfunction such as that seen in
Alzheimer's disease and
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...
, but development was apparently scrapped for unknown reasons.
Another of the patented uses is for the treatment of "severe painful conditions".
Synthesis

: A Strecker type alpha-amino nitrile between
nicotinaldehyde,
potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline salt, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications i ...
and
ammonium chloride gives amino(pyridin-3-yl)acetonitrile
31988-63-1(2). The halogenation of this intermediate with
sulfur monochloride 0025-67-9in DMF led to 3-chloro-4-(3-pyridyl)-1,2,5-thiadiazole
31986-28-2(3).
: Thioether formation with 1-Hexanethiol
11-31-9(4) in the presence of
sodium hydrogen sulfide, DMF and K2CO3 gave 3-(4-hexylthio-1,2,5-thiadiazol-3-yl)pyridine
CID:10755149(5). Alkylation with
methyl iodide
Iodomethane, also called methyl iodide, and commonly abbreviated "MeI", is the chemical compound with the formula CH3I. It is a dense, colorless, volatile liquid. In terms of chemical structure, it is related to methane by replacement of one ...
gives 3-(4-hexylthio-1,2,5-thiadiazol-3-yl)-1-methylpyridinium iodide
CID:19075299(6). The reduction of the pyridine with
sodium borohydride
Sodium borohydride, also known as sodium tetrahydridoborate and sodium tetrahydroborate, is an inorganic compound with the formula Na BH4. This white solid, usually encountered as an aqueous basic solution, is a reducing agent that finds applic ...
in alcohol gives the tetrahydropyridine and hence completed the synthesis of Tazomeline (7).
See also
*
Alvameline
*
Milameline
*
Sabcomeline
*
Xanomeline
References
{{Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor modulators
Muscarinic agonists
Tetrahydropyridines
Thiadiazoles