Muscarinic ganglionic stimulants: conformationally restrained analogues related to [4-[[N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]oxy]-2-butynyl]trimethylammonium chloride.

The synthesis of a series of tertiary and quaternary cyclic analogues (isoarecolinol, dihydroisoarecolinol, arecolinol, and 3-pyrroline-3-carbinol derivatives) of [4-[[N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]oxy]-2-butynyl]trimethylammonium chloride (McN-A-343) (1), a selective stimulant of muscarinic receptors in sympathetic ganglia (so-called M1 receptors), is reported. The compounds 3-10 were tested for muscarinic ganglion-stimulating activity by recording blood pressure responses in pithed rats. All tertiary compounds tested had no ganglion-stimulating activity. Among the series of quaternary derivatives, only the isoarecolinol analogues 4a and 4b showed considerable ganglion-stimulating effects, whereas the dihydroisoarecolinol (8), the arecolinol (6a, 6b), and the 3-pyrroline-3-carbinol derivatives (10) were much less potent. Our experiments therefore demonstrate that in this series a quaternary nitrogen atom, unsaturation at C2 of the ammonium side chain, and a certain spatial arrangement of the ammonium and the phenylcarbamate groups are essential for potent M1-receptor stimulating activity.