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Photochemical Control of Drug Efficacy: A Comparison of Uncaging and Photoswitching Ifenprodil on NMDA Receptors
Author(s) -
Thapaliya Ek Raj,
Mony Laetitia,
Sanchez Roberto,
Serraz Benjamin,
Paoletti Pierre,
EllisDavies Graham C. R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemphotochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.13
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 2367-0932
DOI - 10.1002/cptc.202000240
Subject(s) - ifenprodil , nmda receptor , chemistry , photochemistry , biophysics , receptor , biology , biochemistry
Ifenprodil is an important negative allosteric modulator of the N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor. We have synthesized caged and photoswitchable derivatives of this small molecule drug. Caged ifenprodil was biologically inert before photolysis, and UV irradiation efficiently released the drug allowing selective inhibition of GluN2B‐containing NMDA receptors. Azobenzene‐modified ifenprodil, on the other hand, is inert in both its trans and cis configurations, although in silico modeling predicted the tran s form to be able to bind to the receptor. The disparity in effectiveness between the two compounds reflects, in part, the inherent ability of each method in manipulating the binding properties of drugs. With appropriate structure‐activity relationship uncaging enables binary control of effector binding, whereas photoswitching using freely diffusible chromophores shifts the dose‐response curve of drug‐receptor interaction. Our data suggest that the efficacy of pharmacophores having a confined binding site such as ifenprodil can be controlled more easily by uncaging in comparison to photoswitching.