p-Trifluoromethyldiazirinyl-etomidate: a potent photoreactive general anesthetic derivative of etomidate that is selective for ligand-gated cationic ion channels.

We synthesized the R- and S-enantiomers of ethyl 1-(1-(4-(3-((trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirin-3-yl)phenyl)ethyl)-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylate (trifluoromethyldiazirinyl-etomidate), or TFD-etomidate, a novel photoactivable derivative of the stereoselective general anesthetic etomidate (R-(2-ethyl 1-(phenylethyl)-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylate)). Anesthetic potency was similar to etomidate's, but stereoselectivity was reversed and attenuated. Relative to etomidate, TFD-etomidate was a more potent inhibitor of the excitatory receptors, nAChR (nicotinic acetylcholine receptor) ((alpha1)(2)beta1delta1gamma1) and 5-HT(3A)R (serotonin type 3A receptor), causing significant inhibition at anesthetic concentrations. S- but not R-TFD-etomidate enhanced currents elicited from inhibitory alpha1beta2gamma2L GABA(A)Rs by low concentrations of GABA, but with a lower efficacy than R-etomidate, and site-directed mutagenesis suggests they act at different sites. [(3)H]TFD-etomidate photolabeled the alpha-subunit of the nAChR in a manner allosterically regulated by agonists and noncompetitive inhibitors. TFD-etomidate's novel pharmacology is unlike that of etomidate derivatives with photoactivable groups in the ester position, which behave like etomidate, suggesting that it will further enhance our understanding of anesthetic mechanisms.