title: Tandem mass spectrometric data-FAAH inhibitory activity relationships of some carbamic acid O-aryl esters.
abstract: We have recently described a class of systemically active inhibitors of the intracellular activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and traced extensive structure-activity relationships. These compounds, characterized by an N-alkyl carbamic acid O-aryl ester structure, exert potent anxiolytic-like effects in animal models. In the present study, possible relationships between mass spectrometric parameters (related to the propensity of the C(O)--O bond to be cleaved) and FAAH-inhibitory potency were tested. With this aim, a set of our products was analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and the protonated molecules were decomposed by low-energy collisions. The experiments were performed by ion trap mass spectrometry, which led to a step-by-step energy deposition, thus favouring the lowest critical energy decomposition channels. For all compounds, breakdown curves relative to [MH](+) ions and to the fragment implying C(O)--O bond cleavage were obtained. The crossing point between these curves was related to the energetics of decomposition and the values found for the investigated compounds were linearly correlated (r(2) = 0.797) with their FAAH-inhibitory activity. This indicates that the energetics of the C(O)--O bond cleavage may be relevant in explaining FAAH inhibition.
authors.affiliation: CNR, Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Molecolari, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duranti
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piomelli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tontini
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tarzia
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Traldi
mesh_terms: D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry; D002219:Carbamates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004952:Esters; D011487:Protein Conformation; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods; D000099252:Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases
chemical_list: D000581:Amidohydrolases; D002219:Carbamates; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D004952:Esters; D000099252:Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases; C070766:carbamic acid