Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07D—HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07D213/00—Heterocyclic compounds containing six-membered rings, not condensed with other rings, with one nitrogen atom as the only ring hetero atom and three or more double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members
  • C07D213/02—Heterocyclic compounds containing six-membered rings, not condensed with other rings, with one nitrogen atom as the only ring hetero atom and three or more double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members having three double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members
  • C07D213/04—Heterocyclic compounds containing six-membered rings, not condensed with other rings, with one nitrogen atom as the only ring hetero atom and three or more double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members having three double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members having no bond between the ring nitrogen atom and a non-ring member or having only hydrogen or carbon atoms directly attached to the ring nitrogen atom
  • C07D213/06—Heterocyclic compounds containing six-membered rings, not condensed with other rings, with one nitrogen atom as the only ring hetero atom and three or more double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members having three double bonds between ring members or between ring members and non-ring members having no bond between the ring nitrogen atom and a non-ring member or having only hydrogen or carbon atoms directly attached to the ring nitrogen atom containing only hydrogen and carbon atoms in addition to the ring nitrogen atom
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P27/00—Drugs for disorders of the senses
  • A61P27/02—Ophthalmic agents
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C245/00—Compounds containing chains of at least two nitrogen atoms with at least one nitrogen-to-nitrogen multiple bond
  • C07C245/02—Azo compounds, i.e. compounds having the free valencies of —N=N— groups attached to different atoms, e.g. diazohydroxides
  • C07C245/06—Azo compounds, i.e. compounds having the free valencies of —N=N— groups attached to different atoms, e.g. diazohydroxides with nitrogen atoms of azo groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings
  • C07C245/08—Azo compounds, i.e. compounds having the free valencies of —N=N— groups attached to different atoms, e.g. diazohydroxides with nitrogen atoms of azo groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings with the two nitrogen atoms of azo groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings, e.g. azobenzene
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07D—HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07D295/00—Heterocyclic compounds containing polymethylene-imine rings with at least five ring members, 3-azabicyclo [3.2.2] nonane, piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine rings, having only hydrogen atoms directly attached to the ring carbon atoms
  • C07D295/04—Heterocyclic compounds containing polymethylene-imine rings with at least five ring members, 3-azabicyclo [3.2.2] nonane, piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine rings, having only hydrogen atoms directly attached to the ring carbon atoms with substituted hydrocarbon radicals attached to ring nitrogen atoms
  • C07D295/12—Heterocyclic compounds containing polymethylene-imine rings with at least five ring members, 3-azabicyclo [3.2.2] nonane, piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine rings, having only hydrogen atoms directly attached to the ring carbon atoms with substituted hydrocarbon radicals attached to ring nitrogen atoms substituted by singly or doubly bound nitrogen atoms
  • C07D295/135—Heterocyclic compounds containing polymethylene-imine rings with at least five ring members, 3-azabicyclo [3.2.2] nonane, piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine rings, having only hydrogen atoms directly attached to the ring carbon atoms with substituted hydrocarbon radicals attached to ring nitrogen atoms substituted by singly or doubly bound nitrogen atoms with the ring nitrogen atoms and the substituent nitrogen atoms separated by carbocyclic rings or by carbon chains interrupted by carbocyclic rings

Definitions

• the present patent application finds application in the medical field and, in particular, for the treatment of degenerative retinal diseases.
• Retinal dystrophies hereditary or due to age, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) , are among the prevalent causes of blindness. These diseases involve the degeneration of photoreceptors which causes a progressive and severe loss of vision.
• RP retinitis pigmentosa
• AMD age-related macular degeneration
• RP is caused by dominant, recessive or X-linked mutations, involving genes involved in phototransduction. Mutations of these genes impair rod survival. Consequently, in RP the scotopic vision is precociously affected. In the following phases, the cones are involved up to causing total blindness.
• AMD consists of a selective degeneration of foveal cones and affects up to 20% of the population over 75 years of age.
• impairment of foveal photoreceptors results in high resolution vision loss in the central area of the visual field.
• PAL Photoswitchable affinity labels
• Said compounds were able to recover visual activity in genetically blind mice.
• the drawback is related to the need for excitation in the UV region, which is harmful to the tissue and hardly reaches the retina.
• Photochromic compounds are described herein which are located inside the cell membrane at the lipid rafts.
• a further object of the present invention relates to said compounds for use in the treatment of degenerative diseases of the retina.
• the invention provides new compounds according to claim 1 and dependent claims.
• Another object of the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one of the compounds described.
• Figure 1 (a) scheme of the isomerization process of a compound according to the present invention. Absorption (b) and emission (c) spectra of the compound Ziapin 2 25 mM in DMSO. (d) photoswitching dynamics of Ziapin 2 in water, DMSO and in HEK293 cells, (e, f) absorption and photoluminescence of Ziapin 1 25 mM in DMSO (e) and evolution of the absorption peak at 470 nm by illuminating with a diode at 450 nm (f) .
• Figure 2 molecular dynamics simulations of Ziapin 2 in the membrane model, (a) in E and (b) Z conformation, (c) temporal dependence of the distance between the center of mass (COM) of Ziapin 2 and the center of the double layer in three different simulations of a single Ziapin 2 (E) molecule in water and in the membrane environment (POPC lipid model); the dotted line roughly indicates the interface between water and the polar heads of the phospholipid groups.
• Figure 3 molecular dynamics simulations of Ziapin 1 in the POPC membrane model, in E (a) and Z (b) conformation.
• Figure 4 confocal microscopy images showing the localization of the Ziapin 2 molecule in the vicinity of the plasma membranes (a) and in the lipid rafts (b) of primary neurons.
• Graph (c) shows that about 70% of Ziapin 2 is located equally in plasma membranes and in lipid rafts (above) and that this leads to a coverage of about 20% of the cell surface (below) .
• Figure 5 confocal microscopy images showing the localization of the Ziapin 1 molecule in the vicinity of the plasma membranes (a) and in the lipid rafts (b) of primary neurons.
• Graph (c) shows that less than 50% of Ziapin 1 is located in plasma membranes and in lipid rafts (top) , covering about 20% of the cell surface (bottom) .
• Figure 6 electrophysiology conducted on HEK293 cells (a, b) , primary neurons in the absence (c, d) or in the presence of synaptic blockers (e, f) treated with Ziapin 2 and under illumination.
• Figure 7 modulation of membrane capacitance and conductance in primary neurons following light stimulation.
• Figure 8 effect of Ziapin 1 on passive and active membrane properties in primary hippocampal neurons.
• the primary neurons were incubated with DMSO (0.25% v/v) or Ziapin 1 (5 mM in DMSO) and subsequently recorded in the presence (SB) or absence (Ctrl) of synaptic blockers in response to light stimulation of 20 or 200 ms.
• Figure 9 cortical responses evoked by light in vivo in the somatosensory cortex of mice exposed to Ziapin 2.
• FIGS 10 and 11 diagrams showing the preparation of preferred compounds according to the invention.
• Figures 12 to 17 results of electrophysiological tests conducted on HEK293 cells for some of the compounds according to the invention.
• Figure 18 UV-Vis absorption spectra of azobenzene derivatives at 470 nm, showing the trans-cis isomerization reaction of the compounds.
• optionally substituted alkyl means “alkyl” or "substituted alkyl”; moreover, an optionally substituted group may be unsubstituted (for example, -CH 2 CH 3 ) , completely substituted (for example, -CF 2 CF 3 ) , monosubstituted (for example, -CH 2 CH 2 F ) or substituted at a level anywhere in the medium completely substituted and monosubstituted (for example, -CH 2 CHF 2 , -CH 2 CF3 , -CF2CH 3 , -CFHCHF 2 , etc.) .
• Cl-Cx includes C1-C2, C1-C3... Cl- Cx .
• C1-C4" indicates that there are one to four carbon atoms in the functional group, i.e. groups containing 1 carbon atom, 2 carbon atoms, 3 carbon atoms or 4 carbon atoms, as well as the C1-C2 and C1-C3 ranges.
• C1-C4 alkyl indicates that there are one to four carbon atoms in the alkyl group, that is, the alkyl group is selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec- butyl and t-butyl .
• a numerical range such as “1 to 10” refers to each integer in the given range; for example, "1 to 10 carbon atoms” means that the group can have 1 carbon atom, 2 carbon atoms, 3 carbon atoms, 4 carbon atoms, 5 carbon atoms, 6 carbon atoms, 7 carbon atoms, 8 carbon atoms, 9 carbon atoms, or 10 carbon atoms.
• ring and terminal ring refer to any covalently closed structure, including heteroaromatic and polycyclic, alicyclic, heterocyclic, aromatic ring systems, fused or not fused, as described herein.
• the rings may optionally be substituted.
• the rings may be part of a fused ring system.
• terminal is meant to indicate the number of backbone atoms that make up the ring.
• fused refers to cyclical structures in which two or more rings share one or more bonds .
• substituted it is meant substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halogen, alkyl, hydroxy, alkoxy.
• the term "3-14-membered heterocycle” means a cyclic group derived from a hydrocarbon by removing a hydrogen atom.
• the term includes monocyclic heterocycles with 3-8 members and fused heterocycles with 6-14 members.
• monocyclic heterocycle with 3-8 members means saturated monocyclic heterocycles with 3-8 members and partially saturated monocyclic heterocycles.
• saturated monocyclic heterocycle with 3-8 members means that the monocyclic ring is a completely saturated ring.
• partially saturated monocyclic heterocycle with 3-8 members means that the monocyclic ring is a partially saturated ring. According to a first object of the invention, compounds of formula (1) are described
• R, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 where present, are independently H, optionally substituted C 1 -C 12 alkyl, preferably optionally substituted C 1 -C 6 alkyl, 0, or R and R 1 and/or R 2 and R 3 form, together with the atom Y and/or Z to which they are attached, a 3-14 membered ring, optionally containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from 0, N, and S, optionally substituted.
• said C 1 -C 6 alkyl is an optionally substituted linear chain or optionally substituted branched chain saturated hydrocarbon.
• said C 1 -C 6 alkyl is substituted at the C terminal with a positively charged group, preferably with a tertiary amino group or with an aromatic amine.
• Z is N and said R and R 1 are independently H and/or
• said groups ZRRi and/or YR2R3 are NO2.
• said groups ZRRi and/or YR2R3 are -OCH 3 .
• Said ring is a saturated, unsaturated or aromatic ring and, when substituted, it is substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, tert-butyl, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, -CF 3 , -OH, -0CH 3 , -OC 2 H 5 , -SH, -SCH 3 , -SCH 2 CH 3 , -CH 2 OH, -C(CH 3 ) 2 OH, -Cl, -F, -CN, -C00H, -C00R 5 , -C0NH 2 , -CONHR 5 or -SO2NH2; wherein R5 is H or C 1 -C 3 alkyl.
• said ring comprises carbon atoms, except the atom Y or Z .
• said ring is an azepane .
• said medical use is in the treatment of eye diseases.
• said medical use is in the treatment of eye diseases, which are retinal dystrophies, for example retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration .
• composition which comprises at least one of the compounds according to the present invention and, optionally, one or more further pharmaceutically acceptable active ingredients and/or excipients.
• compositions for use according to the present invention may be formulated in a conventional manner using one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients including carriers, diluents or liposomes which facilitate the processing of the active compounds in preparations, which can be used physiologically for the microinj ectable preparation.
• the compounds of the invention are provided as pharmaceutical compositions in the form of liquid compositions.
• the pharmaceutical composition may contain at least one of said compounds dispersed in a suitable liquid excipient .
• Suitable liquid excipients are known in the art; see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• said formulation is by intravitreal or subretinal microinj ection .
• a further object of the present invention is a method for the treatment of degenerative diseases of photoreceptors which comprises the administration, preferably by intravitreal or subretinal microinjection at the macular region, of a suitable amount of at least one of the compounds according to the present invention to a patient in need thereof.
• the administration may be repeated following the possible attenuation of the photosensitivity.
• microinjection refers to the administration of the preparation using a microsyringe so as to slowly and regularly inject volumes in the order of microliters locally.
• the compounds or compositions according to the present invention are administered at the subretinal level by microinjection through the sclera or through the vitreous chamber.
• the compounds or the composition according to the present invention are administered/applied/inj ected by microinjection into the subretinal space.
• said compounds or composition are administered by one of the following methods.
• one or more of the compounds or the composition according to the present invention are administered by microinjection in the subretinal region preferentially at the macula after penetration through the sclera and the choroid.
• one or more of the compounds or the composition according to the present invention are administered by microinjection in the subretinal region.
• the injection is performed by opening the conjunctiva, incising the sclera and the choroid, separating the sclera and the pigmented epithelium of the retina, injecting a viscoelastic material into the retina and finally injecting one or more of the compounds or the composition according to the present invention into the subretinal region .
• one or more of the compounds or the composition according to the present invention are injected tangentially to the sclera, in order to prevent any damage to the retina and the choroid.
• the tangential sub-retinal flow originating by injecting with the needle in this position is very effective in promoting a complete retinal detachment and a consequent uniform distribution of the compound.
• Said composition is preferably an injectable ophthalmic pharmaceutical composition.
• the ophthalmic composition of the present invention is characterized by a generally acceptable pH for ophthalmic applications and, preferably, comprised between 7.0 and 7.5.
• composition is characterized by an osmotic pressure generally acceptable for ophthalmic applications and, preferably, comprised between 290 and 300 mOsm/L.
• Synthesis strategy The synthetic route of two of the compounds according to the present invention, illustrated also in figures 10 and 11, is described below. The person skilled in the art knows how to modify the synthetic strategy given herein to obtain the further compounds described herein.
• the dibromoexane excess was removed at reduced pressure (3xl0 1 mbar) at 60 °C.
• the raw material was purified by flash chromatography with silica gel using a mixture of hexane/diethyl ether 3:1 as a mobile phase to yield 52 mg of 2C 6 Br/2C 6 Br, 32 mg of Az/lCeBr, 33 mg of Az/2CeBr and 64 mg of ICeBr/lCeBr.
• Disperse Orange 3 1.0 g was dissolved in 10 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile to which 1.0 g of K2CO3 and 1.7 mL of 1 , 3-dibromopropane were added.
• the reaction mixture was heated to 80 °C and the reaction was monitored by TLC for a total of 96 hours.
• the reaction mixture was then filtered and the solid was washed three times with diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane .
• the excess of dibromopropane was removed at reduced pressure (3xl0 _1 mbar) at 60 °C.
• the raw material was purified by flash chromatography with silica gel using dichloromethane as a mobile phase, to yield 30 mg of N02/lC3Br.
• Disperse Orange 3 1.0 g was dissolved in 10 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile to which 1.0 g of K 2 C0 3 and 0.7 mL of 1 , 6-dibromohexane were added. The solution was heated to 80 °C and the reaction was monitored by TLC for a total of 96 hours. The reaction mixture was then filtered and the solid was washed three times with diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane. The dibromoexane excess was removed at reduced pressure (3xl0 _1 mbar) at 60 °C. The raw material was purified by flash chromatography with silica gel using diclomethane as a mobile phase, to yield 32 mg of N0 2 /lC 6 Br.
• Disperse Orange 3 1.0 g was dissolved in 10 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile to which 1.0 g of K 2 C0 3 and 5.5 g of 1 , 12-dibromododecane were added. The solution was heated to 80 °C and the reaction was monitored by TLC for a total of 96 hours. The reaction mixture was then filtered and the solid was washed three times with diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane . The raw material was purified by flash chromatography with silica gel using dichloromethane as a mobile phase to yield 40 mg of N0 2 /lCi 2 Br.
• TLC Thin layer chromatography
• the Ziapin 2 molecule (Figure la) in DMSO has a strong absorption peak centered at 470 nm (Fig. lb) and a peak at 330nm, attributed respectively to the transitions n n* and n n* of the E isomer.
• the irradiation with blue light (450 nm) leads to the isomerization E Z, as can be seen from the weakening of the absorption of the E isomer accompanied by the concurrent increase in the absorption of the Z conformer at 350-380 nm and 520-60 nm.
• Azobenzene fluorescence is also an ideal tool for monitoring the switch behavior of photoreponsive materials, as well as the localization and photodynamics in living cells.
• the decrease of Ziapin 2 time-dependent fluorescence following exposure to blue light in DMSO solution (Fig. lc) is related to the weakening of the photoluminescence of the E conformer due to the photoisomerization reaction.
• Time-dependent fluorescence measurements (Fig. Id) indicate a clear "photo-switching" dynamics of azobenzene in living HEK293 cells, with estimated isomerization/relaxation degrees of 0.01 cm 2 J -1 and 0.0085s -1 . These values suggest that the photoswitching ability of Ziapin 2 in cell membranes is slightly less than that in DMSO, probably due to the restricted conformational freedom encountered by the molecule when internalized in the double layer structure. An analogous characterization was performed with the Ziapin 1 molecule ( Fig . 1 e, f ) .
• Figure 18 shows the UV-Vis absorption spectra of the azobenzene derivatives at 470 nm, which show the trans- cis isomerization reaction of the compounds.
• the isomerization reaction for the compound NO 2 /1C 6 Py is not observed, since in this case the nitro-azobenzene having a push-pull configuration has a rapid thermal relaxation (>ns) which hinders the appearance of the absorption of the cis isomer in the investigated temporal regime (Bandara et al . , Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1809-1825) .
• Molecules tend to localize in cell membranes and change their conformation.
• the specific affinity for the hydrophobic membrane environment was studied by molecular dynamics simulations of the E and Z isomers of the Ziapin 2 molecule (Fig. 2a) and revealed a significant tendency to incorporation into the membrane if the compound is added to the extracellular environment in a time variable between 50 and 100 ns (Fig. 2b) .
• the Ziapin 1 molecule has also shown a tendency to insert into the membrane, showing however less deformation of the same (Fig. 3 a,b) .
• the targeting of both molecules at the plasma membrane level was analyzed in cultures of primary neurons using specific markers for the cell membrane (Cell Mask, Fig. 4a, Fig.
• the E form isomerizes into the Z form with greater steric hindrance.
• the HEK293 cell line responds with a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential (Fig. 6a and b) , interpreted as the consequence of the deformation of the duel lipid layer that can influence the capacity and resistance of the membrane .
• the effectiveness of the compounds according to the present invention was demonstrated in vivo by the administration of 1 m ⁇ of Ziapin 2 in the somatosensory cortex of adult animals.
• the objective was to investigate whether the light-dependent modulation of neuronal activity observed in vitro occurred also in vivo.
• the electrophysiological recordings were obtained by implanting an array of 16 microelectrodes coupled to an optical fiber for photostimulation. Fluorescence analysis revealed that the area of diffusion and absorption of the molecule by cortical cells occupied a diameter of about 1 mm (Fig. 9a and b) .
• Figures 12 to 17 show the results of the electrophysiological tests conducted on HEK293 cells for some of the compounds according to the invention in the presence of 25 mM of compound when stimulated with short (20ms, left) and long (200 ms, right) light pulses in the visible, represented by the shaded areas, to light having an intensity of 20 mW/mm 2 . Each track is obtained as an average of 40 consecutive beams of light.
• the activity of the compounds described herein is not linked to the K + channels, therefore the use of the compounds according to the present invention is not associated with the risk of hyper-excitability linked to the block of K + channels, which inevitably accompanies the treatment with photochromic molecules of the prior art.

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