A copper-catalyzed regio- and intermolecular aminofluorination of styrenes has been developed. In this reaction Ph-IN-Ts and Et₃N·3HF act as nitrogen and fluorine sources, respectively. The obtained β-fluoro-N-Ts-phenethylamines can be N-alkylated with subsequent deprotection affording the corresponding β-fluoro-N-alkylated phenethylamines, which are interesting building blocks for compounds acting on neuronal targets.

Y in rodent chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain models. This study investigates whether 3-furan-2-yl-N-p-tolyl-acrylamide (PAM-2), a new putative α7-selective type II PAM, attenuates experimental inflammatory and neuropathic pains in mice. METHODS: We tested the activity of PAM-2 after intraperitoneal administration in 3 pain assays: the carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain, the complete Freund adjuvant–induced inflammatory pain, and the chronic constriction injury–induced neuropathic pain in mice. We also tested whether PAM-2 enhanced the effects of the selective α7 agonist choline in the mouse carrageenan test given intrathecally. Because the experience of pain has both sensory and affective dimensions, we also evaluated the effects of PAM-2 on acetic acid–induced aversion by using the conditioned place aversion test. RESULTS: We observed that systemic administration of PAM-2 significantly reversed mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in inflammatory and neuropathic pain models in a dose- and time-dependent manner without motor impairment. In addition, by attenuating the paw edema in inflammatory models, PAM-2 showed antiinflammatory properties. The antinociceptive effect of PAM-2 was inhibited by the selective competitive antagonist methyllycaconitine, indicating that the effect is mediated by α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Furthermore, PAM-2 enhanced the antiallodynic and antiinflammatory effects of choline, a selective α7 agonist, in the mouse carrageenan test. PAM-2 was also effective in reducing acetic acid–induced aversion in the conditioned place aversion assay. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the administration of PAM-2, a new α7-selective type II PAM, reduces the neuropathic and inflammatory pain sensory and affective behaviors in the mouse. Thus, this drug may have therapeutic applications in the treatment and management of chronic pain....

This work presents the synthesis and the pharmacological characterization of a series of novel 1-(1-benzyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-N,N,N-trimethylmethanaminium iodide derivatives at the human (h) α7 and α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). The inhibitory activity of the compounds was determined by Ca²⁺ influx assays on cells expressing either the hα7 or hα4β2 nAChR subtype. To determine whether the observed inhibitory activity is mediated by a competitive or non-competitive mechanism, additional radioligand binding assays were performed using [³H]methyllycaconitine, [³H]cytisine, and [³H]imipramine. The results established that the compounds inhibit the nAChRs by a competitive mechanism and that the potencies are higher for the hα7 nAChR compared to that for the hα4β2 nAChR. Substitutions with oxygenated functional groups on the benzene ring increase the receptor selectivity. In particular, the hydroxyl derivatives 4b and 4c present the highest selectivity for the hα7 nAChR subtype. Molecular docking results indicate that the hydroxyl group forms a hydrogen bond with the carbonyl group at α7-Gln116, but not at β2-Phe115, supporting the observed receptor selectivity at the molecular level.