Influence of lipophilicity and chirality on the selectivity of ligands for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenoceptors.

Eudismic and QSAR analyses are reported for the beta 1- and beta 2-adrenoceptor affinities and beta 1-selectivity of 10 enantiomeric pairs of ligands with only N-isopropyl or N-t-butyl groups. For both receptors, the eudismic index (ratio of affinity) increases with the affinity of the eutomers. However, the affinity of the distomers for the beta 2-adrenoceptor is relatively high, suggesting additional hydrophobic interactions. This is confirmed by various correlations between affinities and lipophilicities, showing that the affinity for beta 2-adrenoceptors is slightly more dependent on lipophilicity than that for beta 1-adrenoceptors. As a result, the beta 1-selectivity of the investigated beta 1-adrenoceptor ligands is strongly and negatively correlated with their lipophilicity (r = -0.942).