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Monoamine oxidases A and B (MAO A and B) catalyze the degradation of neurotransmitters and represent drug targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Rasagiline is an irreversible, MAO B-selective inhibitor that has been approved as a novel anti-Parkinson's drug. In this study, we investigate the inhibition of recombinant human MAO A and MAO B by several rasagiline analogues. Different substituents added onto the rasagiline scaffold alter the binding affinity depending on the position on the aminoindan ring and on the size of the substituent. Compounds with a hydroxyl group on either the C4 or the C6 atom inhibit both isozymes, whereas a bulkier substituent such as a carbamate is tolerated only at the C4 position. The 1.7 A crystal structure of MAO B in complex with 4-(N-methyl-N-ethyl-carbamoyloxy)-N-methyl-N-propargyl-1(R)-aminoindan shows that the binding mode is similar to that of rasagiline with the carbamate moiety occupying the entrance cavity space. 1(R)-Aminoindan, the major metabolic product of rasagiline, and its analogues reversibly inhibit both MAO A and MAO B. The crystal structure of N-methyl-1(R)-aminoindan bound to MAO B shows that its aminoindan ring adopts a different orientation compared to that of rasagiline.

Carbamate derivatives of N-propargylaminoindans (Series I) and N-propargylphenethylamines (Series II) were synthesized via multistep procedures from the corresponding hydroxy precursors. The respective rasagiline- and selegiline-related series were designed to combine inhibitory activities of both acetylcholine esterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) by virtue of their carbamoyl and propargylamine pharmacophores. Each compound was tested for these activities in vitro in order to find molecules with similar potencies against each enzyme. Compounds with such dual AChE and MAO inhibitory activities are expected to have potential for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The observed SAR also offers insight into the requirements of the active sites on these enzymes. A carbamate moiety was found to be essential for AChE inhibition, which was absent in the corresponding hydroxy precursors. The propargyl group caused 2-70-fold decrease in AChE inhibitory activity (depending on the position of the carbamoyl group) of Series I, but had little or no effect in Series II. Thus, the 6- and 7-carbamyloxyphenyls in Series I were either equipotent to, or slightly (2- to 5-fold) less active as AChE inhibitors than, the corresponding compounds in Series II, while the 4-carbamyloxyphenyls were more potent. The presence of the carbamate moiety in 6- and 7-carbamyloxyphenyls of Series I, considerably decreased MAO-A and -B inhibitory activity, compared to that of the parent hydroxy analogues, while the opposite was true for Series II. Thus, the 6- and 7-carbamyloxyphenyls in Series I were 2-3 orders of magnitude weaker MAO inhibitors while the 4- carbamyloxyphenyls were equipotent with the corresponding compounds in Series II. In both series, N-methylation of the propargylamine enhanced the MAO (A and B equally) inhibitory activities and decreased the AChE inhibitory activity. Two candidates belonging to the indan and tetralin ring systems (24c, 27b) and one phenethylamine (53d) were identified as possible leads for further development based on the following criteria: (a) comparable AChE and MAO-B inhibitory activities, (b) good to moderate AChE inhibitory activity, and (c) lack of strong MAO-A selectivity. However, it is likely that these compounds will be metabolized to the corresponding phenols, with inhibitory activities against AChE and/or MAO-A or -B, different from those of the parent carbamates. Thus, the apparent enzyme inhibition will be a result of the combined inhibition of all of these individual metabolites. The results of our ongoing in vivo screening programs will be published elsewhere.

5-Dimethylamino-1-aminoindan undergoes thermal decomposition and reacts with 6-chlorouracil to give 5-indanyl-6-chlorouracil derivative 9. The formation of 9 may be rationalized by a putative mechanism based on the intermediacy of the imminium methide species 8a.

The chemical stability and reactivity of hydroxy-1-aminoindans and their N-propargyl derivatives are strongly affected by the position of the OH group and its orientation relative to that of the amino moiety. Thus, the 4- and 6-OH regioisomers were found to be stable, while the 5-OH analogues were found to be inherently unstable as the free bases. The latter, having a para orientation between the OH and the amino moieties, could be isolated only as their hydrochloride salts. 7-Hydroxy-1-aminoindans and 7-hydroxy-1-propargylaminoindans represent an intermediate case; while sufficiently stable even as free bases, they exhibit, under certain experimental conditions, unexpected reactivity. The instability of the 5- and 7-hydroxy-aminoindans is attributed to their facile conversion to the corresponding, reactive quinone methide (QM) intermediates. The o-QM obtained from 7-hydroxy-aminoindans was successfully trapped with ethyl vinyl ether via a Diels−Alder reaction to give tricyclic acetals 32a,b.