Molecular modeling, theoretical calculations and property evaluation of three muscarinic agonists, X-ray structures of LU 25-109 and WAL 2014

LU 25-109 (II) and WAL 2014 (talsaclidine, III) are two M1 muscarinic agonists chemically related to the natural substance arecoline (I). All these compounds have beneficial effects on memory and cognition in animals and humans, and they have been proposed in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but only III will likely find a place in therapy. In this work we have investigated the solid state structures of II and III and the X-ray structures of the two molecules and of the parent compound I have been used to input a series of computational chemistry efforts. In particular, the X-ray geometries have been manipulated to model 20 molecular structures (1-20) which have been submitted to ab initio, semiempirical quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics calculations. The conformational space accessible to the 20 structures has been assessed by means of potential energy maps. The reactivities of 1-20 have been estimated by examining at the graphics terminal the composition and the extension of the frontier orbitals (HOMOs and LUMOs) and of the molecular electrostatic potential. The information obtained has been interpreted to explain the different degrees of activity shown by I-III. Our data indicate that III has better in vivo activity for its intermediate size, less polar surface, conformational rigidity and orientation of reactive domains. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.