A study of the electrostatic potential maps for several gaba (γ‐aminobutyric acid) inhibitors of restricted conformation

Study of the conformational and electronic aspects of molecules may throw some light on the conformational preference for binding with the receptor and also their pharmacological and biological importance. The transmitter substances, their agonists, and antagonists are flexible molecules which appear to interact with quite distinct receptors. The electrostatic potential maps of gaba (γ‐aminobutyric acid) and four of its inhibitors of restricted conformation (e.g., isoguvacine, guvacine, arecaidine, and nipecotic acid) have been calculated. The nature of the negative potential regions and positive potential regions around N + for these molecules has been compared in order to identify the factors which explain the differences in potency of the drug molecules. A comparison of the negative potential and positive potential regions of the gaba inhibitors studied shows that they are comparable with the respective zones of gaba zwitterion.