ARL-12495

C-C bond formation by transition metal-catalyzed C-H activation has become an important strategy to fabricate new bonds in a rapid fashion. Despite the pharmacological importance of ortho-arylbenzylamines, however, effective ortho-C-C bond formation of free primary and secondary benzylamines using Pd^II remains an outstanding challenge. Presented herein is a new strategy for constructing ortho-arylated primary and secondary benzylamines mediated by carbon dioxide (CO₂). The use of CO₂ with Pd is critical to allowing this transformation to proceed under relatively mild conditions, and mechanistic studies indicate that it (CO₂) is directly involved in the rate-determining step. Furthermore, the milder temperatures furnish free amine products that can be directly used or elaborated without the need for deprotection. In cases where diarylation is possible, an interesting chelate effect is shown to facilitate selective monoarylation.

This study presents a mechanistic QSAR analysis of passive blood-brain barrier permeability of drugs and drug-like compounds in rats and mice. The experimental data represented in vivo log PS (permeability-surface area product) from in situ perfusion, brain uptake index, and intravenous administration studies. A data set of 280 log PS values was compiled. A subset of 178 compounds was assumed to be driven by passive transport that is free of plasma protein binding and carrier-mediated effects. This subset was described in terms of nonlinear lipophilicity and ionization dependences, that account for multiple kinetic and thermodynamic effects: (i) drug's kinetic diffusion, (ii) ion-specific partitioning between plasma and brain capillary endothelial cell membranes, and (iii) hydrophobic entrapment in phospholipid bilayer. The obtained QSAR model provides both good statistical significance (RMSE < 0.5) and simple physicochemical interpretations (log P and pKa), thus providing a clear route towards property-based design of new CNS drugs.