Abstract
Imidazolines, also known as dihydroimidazolines, are an important class of aromatic five-membered heterocycles that include two nitrogen atoms. Imidazolines are present in a wide range of biologically active natural and synthetic compounds. The synthesis of imidazoline-containing drugs has expanded dramatically after the findings of the imidazoline binding site (IBS) in 1984. Furthermore, many substituted imidazolines have shown potential therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of a variety of disorders, including anthelmintics, antifungal, anticancer, hypertension, and hyperglycemia, as well as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Moreover, chiral imidazolines are extensively used as organocatalysts in the synthesis of a wide range of natural and synthetic organic molecules. This overview highlights the different pharmacological and biological activities of imidazolines derivatives.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- U.S. FDA:
-
United State food and drug administration
- HIV:
-
Human immunodeficiency virus
- OLIG2:
-
Oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2
- DNA:
-
Deoxyribonucleic acid
- HER2:
-
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2
- OGTT:
-
Oral glucose tolerance test
- XPO1:
-
Exportin 1
- OAT4:
-
Organic anion carrier 4
- URAT1:
-
Uric acid carrier 1
- DPP-4:
-
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4
- PARP:
-
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase
- RNA:
-
Ribonucleic acid
- SAR:
-
Structure–activity relationship
- GLP-1:
-
Glucagon-like peptide 1
- AIDS:
-
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- GIP:
-
Gastric inhibitory polypeptide
- TNF:
-
Tumor necrosis factor α
- HSV:
-
Herpes simplex viruses
- GSIS:
-
Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion
References
Abdel-Zaher AO, Ahmed IT, El-Koussi A (2001) The potential antidiabetic activity of some alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonists. Pharmacol Res 44:397–409
Ahmad SM, Braddock DC, Cansell G, Hermitage SA, Redmond JM, White AJP (2007) Amidines as potent nucleophilic organocatalysts for the transfer of electrophilic bromine from N-bromosuccinimide to alkenes. Tetrahedron Lett 48:5948–5952
Anastassiadou M, Danoun S, Crane L, Mouysset GB, Payard M, Caignard DH, Rettori MC, Remard P (2001) Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of Imidazoline sites I1 and I2 selective ligands. Bioorg Med Chem 9:585–592
Azevedo LM, Lansdell TA, Ludwig JR, Mosey RA, Woloch DK, Cogan DP, Patten GP, Kuszpit MP, Fisk JS, Tepe JT (2013) Inhibition of the human proteasome by imidazoline scaffolds. J Med Chem 56:5974–5978
Bektas N, Nemutlu D, Arslan R (2015) The imidazoline receptors and ligands in pain modulation. Indian J Pharmacol 47:472–478
Bellina F, Cauteruccio S, Rossi R (2007) Synthesis and biological activity of vicinal diaryl-substituted 1H-imidazoles. Tetrahedron 63:4571–4624
Bellina F, Cauteruccio S, Fiore AD, Marchetti C, Rossi R (2008) Highly selective synthesis of 4(5)-aryl-, 2, 4 (5)-diaryl-, and 4, 5-diaryl-1H-imidazoles via Pd-catalyzed direct C-5 arylation of 1-benzyl-1H-imidazole. Tetrahedron 64:6060–6072
Berlinck RGS, Kossuga MH (2005) Natural guanidine derivatives. Nat Prod Rep 22:516–550
Berlinck RGS, Burtoloso ACB, Kossuga MH (2008) The chemistry and biology of organic guanidine derivatives. Nat Prod Rep 25:919–954
Bhalay G, Edwards L, Howsham C, Hunt P, Smith N (2012) Pyrazine derivatives as ENaC blockers. US Patent US20120071479A1
Bhalay G, Edwards L, Howsham C, Hunt P, Smith N (2014) Pyrazine derivatives as ENaC blockers. TN2013000102A1
Bharti N, Dontukurthy S, Bala I, Singh G (2013) Postoperative analgesic effect of intravenous (iv) clonidine compared with clonidine administration in wound infiltration for open cholecystectomy. Br J Anaesth 111:656–661
Boblewski K, Lehmann A, Sączewski F, Kornicka A, Rybczyńska A (2014) Vagotomy reveals the importance of the imidazoline receptors in the cardiovascular effects of marsanidine and 7-Memarsanidine in rats. Pharmacol Rep 66:874–879
Bousquet P, Hudson A, García-Sevilla JA, Li JX (2020) Imidazoline receptor system: the past, the present, and the future. Pharmacol Rev 72:50–79
Chu XJ, Lovey AJ, Vu BT, Zhao C (2014) Novel imidazolines as dual inhibitors of MDM2 and MDMX. US Patent WO2014082889A1
Dardonville C, Rozas I (2004) Imidazoline binding sites and their ligands: an overview of the different chemical structures. Med Res Rev 24:639–661
Deepinder F, Braunstein GD (2012) Drug-induced gynecomastia: a evidence-based review. Exp Opinion Drug Safety 11:779–795
Del Bello F, Bargelli V, Cifani C, Gratteri P, Bazzicalupi C, Diamanti E, Giannella M, Mammoli V, Matucci R, Bonaventura MVMD, Piergentili A, Quaglia W, Pigini M (2015) Antagonism/agonism modulation to build novel antihypertensives selectively triggering I1-imidazoline receptor activation. ACS Med Chem Lett 6:496–501
Dibas MI, Donello JE, Gil DW, Burke JA (2013) Pharmaceutical compositions comprising 4-bromo-N-(imidazolidin-2-ylidene)-1H-benzimidazol-5-amine for treating retinal diseases. US Patent US20130046003A1
Donatelli C, Chongnarungsin D, Ashton R (2014) Acute respiratory failure from nilotinib-associated diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Leuk Lymphoma 55:2408–2409
Donello JE, Gil DW, Dibas MI (2013) Alpha-2 adrenergic agonist having long duration of intraocular pressure lowering effect.US Patent US20130210876A1
Edelmann FT (2008) 3 Advances in the coordination chemistry of amidinate and guanidinate ligands. Adv Organomet Chem 57:183–352
Efendic S, Efanov AM, Berggren PO, Zaitsev SV (2002) Two generations of insulinotropic imidazoline compounds. Diabetes 51:S448–S454
Ferrari F, Fiorentino S, Mennuni L, Garofalo P, Letari O, Mandelli S, Giordani A, Lanza M, Caselli G (2011) Analgesic efficacy of CR4056, a novel imidazoline-2 receptor ligand, in rat models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. J Pain Res 4:111–125
George DE, Tepe JJ (2021) Advances in proteasome enhancement by small molecules. Biomolecules 11:1789
Gil DW, Donello JE (2008) Alpha-2B receptor agonist and anticonvulsant compositions for treating chronic pain. US Patent WO2013074320
Gil DW, Donello JE, Luhrs LMB, Viswanath V (2012) Method of activating regulatory T cells with alpha-2B adrenergic receptor agonists. US Patent WO2012024161A1
Gil DW, Donello JE, Fang WK, Nguyen PX, Chow K, Heidelbaugh TM, Gomez DG, Garst ME, Sinha SC (2012) Methods of treating alpha adrenergic mediated conditions. US Patent US20120165380A1
Glicksman MA, Cuny GD, Liu M, Dobson B, Auerbach K, Stein RL, Kosik KS (2007) New approaches to the discovery of cdk5 inhibitors. Curr Alzheimer Res 4:547–549
Grimmett MR (1996) Comprehensive heterocyclic chemistry II. In: Katritzky AR, Scriven EFV (eds) Oxford. 3 pp 77–220
Guo C (2008) Mechanism of anticancer activity of 9-aminoacridine derivatives. Dissertation. Case Western Reserve University
Haneda S, Okui A, Ueba C, Hayashi M (2007) An efficient synthesis of 2-arylimidazoles by oxidation of 2-arylimidazolines using activated carbon–O2 system and its application to palladium-catalyzed Mizoroki–Heck reaction. Tetrahedron 63:2414–2417
Head GA, Mayorov DN (2006) Imidazoline receptors, novel agents and therapeutic potential. Cardiovasc Hematol Agents Med Chem 4:17–32
Holt A (2003) Imidazoline binding sites on receptors and enzymes: emerging targets for novel antidepressant drugs? J Psychiatry Neurosci 28:409–414
Howsham C, Lindenberg C, Perlberg A, Tufilli N (2013) Crystalline form of a succinate salt. US Patent WO2013140319A1
Huh DH, Ryu H, Kim YG (2004) A novel synthetic method for 2-arylmethyl substituted imidazolines and imidazoles from 2-aryl-1, 1-dibromoethenes. Tetrahedron 60:9857–9862
Imaki J, Mae Y, Shimizu S, Ohno Y (2009) Therapeutic potential of α2-adrenoceptor antagonism for antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal motor disorders. Neurosci Lett 454:143–147
Ishihara M, Togo H (2006) An efficient preparation of 2-imidazolines and imidazoles from aldehydes with molecular iodine and (diacetoxyiodo)benzene. Synlett 2:227–230
Kelly B, McMullan M, Muguruza C, Ortega JE, Meana JJ, Callado LF, Rozas I (2015) α2-Adrenoceptor antagonists: synthesis, pharmacological evaluation, and molecular modeling investigation of pyridinoguanidine, pyridino-2-aminoimidazoline and their derivatives. J Med Chem 58:963–977
Kemp JE (1991) Comprehensive organic synthesis. In: Trost B M, Fleming I (eds) Oxford. 7 pp 469–513
Kesari S, Makale M, Wrasidlo W, Mukthavaram R, Tsigelny IF, Kouznetsova VL (2013) Novel therapeutics for brain cancer. US Patent US20150259326A1
Koskelainen T, Linnanen T, Minkkilä A, Mäkelä M, Pohjakallio A (2013) New alpha2 adrenoceptor agonists. WO2013150173A1
Kramer T, Schmidt B, Lo Monte F (2012) Small-molecule inhibitors of GSK-3: structural insights and their application to Alzheimer’s disease models. Int J Alzheimers Dis 2012:381029
Kumamoto T (2009) In Superbases for organic synthesis: guanidines, amidines, phosphazenes and related organoctalysts. In: Ishikawa I (ed) West Sussex UK. pp 295–313
Lanza M, Ferrari F, Menghetti I, Tremolada D, Caselli G (2014) Modulation of imidazoline I2 binding sites by CR4056 relieves postoperative hyperalgesia in male and female rats. Br J Pharmacol 171:3693–3701
Li JX, Thorn DA, Qiu Y, Peng BW, Zhang Y (2014) Antihyperalgesic effects of imidazoline (I2) receptor ligands in rat models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Br J Pharmacol 171:1580–1590
Martinez EJ, Tavazoie SF (2015) Inhibitors of creatine transport and uses thereof.US Patent US10308597B2
Mehedi MSA, Tepe JJ (2020) Recent advances in the synthesis of imidazolines (2009–2020). Adv Synth Catal 362:4189–4225
Meregalli C, Ceresa C, Canta A, Carozzi VA, Chiorazzi A, Sala B, Oggioni N, Lanza M, Letari O, Ferrari F, Avezza F, Marmiroli P, Caselli G, Cavaletti G (2012) CR4056, a new analgesic I2 ligand, is highly effective against bortezomib-induced painful neuropathy in rats. J Pain Res 5:151–167
Mohammadpoor-Baltork I, Zolfigol MA, Abdollahi-Aibeik M (2004) Novel, mild and chemoselective dehydrogenation of 2-imidazolines with trichloroisocyanuric acid. Synlett 15:2803–2805
Nagasawa K, Hashimoto Y (2003) Synthesis of marine guanidine alkaloids and their application as chemical/biological tools. Chem Rec 3:201–211
Nicolaou KC, Mathison CJN, Montagnon T (2003) New reactions of IBX: oxidation of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing substrates to afford useful synthetic intermediates. Angew Chem Int Ed 42:4077–4082
Nikolic K, Agbaba D (2012) Imidazoline antihypertensive drugs: selective I1-imidazoline receptors activation. Cardiovasc Ther 30:209–216
Nikolic K, Veljkovic N, Gemovic B, Srdic-Rajic T, Agbaba D (2013) Imidazoline-1 receptor ligands as apoptotic agents: pharmacophore modeling and virtual docking study. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen 16:298–319
Noscira SA (2013) Therapeutic use of indole-dihydroimidazole derivatives. WO2013167635A1
Oeckinghaus A, Ghosh S (2009) The NF–kB family of transcription factors and its regulation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 1:a000034
Parker CA, Nutt DJ, Tyacke RJ (2023) Imidazoline-I2 PET tracers in neuroimaging. Int J Mol Sci 24:9787
Pearson WH, Lian BW, Bergmeier SC (1996) Comprehensive heterocyclic chemistry II. In: Padwa A (ed) Oxford, UK. 1A pp 1–60
Penning TD, Russell MA, Chen BB, Chen HY, Desai BN, Docter SH, Edwards DJ, Gesicki GJ, Liang CD, Malecha JW, Yu SS, Engleman VW, Freeman SK, Hanneke ML, Shannon KE, Westlin MM, Nickols GA (2004) Synthesis of cinnamic acids and related isosteres as potent and selective ανβ3 receptor antagonists. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 14:1471–1476
Pikul SW, Cholody WM (2014) Derivatives of 1-(substituted sulfonyl)-2-aminoimidazoline as antitumor and antiproliferative agents. US Patent US9095575B2
Rai KML, Hassner A (1996) Comprehensive heterocyclic chemistry II. In: Padwa A (ed) Oxford, UK. 1A pp 61–96
Reddy DS, Saxena C, Komirishetty K (2016) Novel indazole compounds and a process for the preparation thereof. WO2015015519A1
Remko M, Swart M, Bickelhaupt FM (2006) Theoretical study of structure, pKa, lipophilicity, solubility, absorption, and polar surface area of some centrally acting antihypertensives. Bioorg Med Chem 14:1715–1728
Reyes-Arellano A, Gómez-García O, Torres-Jaramillo J (2016) Synthesis of azolines and imidazoles and their use in drug design. Med Chem 6:561–570
Rodríguez D, Gao ZG, Moss SM, Jacobson KA, Carlsson J (2015) Molecular docking screening using agonist-bound GPCR structures: probing the A2A adenosine receptor. J Chem Inf Model 55:550–563
Sączewski F, Kornicka A, Rybczyńska A, Hudson AL, Miao SS, Gdaniec M, Boblewski K, Lehmann A (2008) 1-[(Imidazolidin-2-yl)imino]indazole. Highly α2/I1 selective agonist: synthesis, X-ray structure, and biological activity. J Med Chem 51:3599–3608
Sączewski F, Kornicka A, Balewski Ł (2016) Imidazoline scaffold in medicinal chemistry: a patent review (2012–2015). Expert Opin Ther Pat 26:1031–1048
Saczewski J, Hudson A, Scheinin M, Rybczynska A, Ma D, Saczewski F, Laird S, Laurila JM, Boblewski K, Lehmann A, Gu J, Watts H (2012) Synthesis and biological activities of 2-[(heteroaryl)methyl]imidazolines. Bioorg Med Chem 20:108–116
Saczewski F, Rybczynska A, Kornicka A, Saczewski J, Ma D, Maze M (2009), Derivatives of 1-[(imidazolidin-2-yl)imino]indazole. Medical University of Gdansk, WO2009071906A1
Sarnpitak P, Mujumdar P, Morisseau C, Hwang SH, Hammock B, Iurchenko V, Zozulya S, Gavalas A, Geronikaki A, Ivanenkov Y, Krasavin M (2014) Potent, orally available, selective COX-2 inhibitors based on 2-imidazoline core. Eur J Med Chem 84:160–172
Sharma V, Peddibhotla S, Tepe JJ (2006) Sensitization of cancer cells to DNA damaging agents by imidazolines. J Am Chem Soc 128:9137–9143
Sinha SC, Wang L, Chow K, Dibas MI, Garst ME (2013) N-(imidazolidin-2-ylidene)-heterocyclopenta[b]pyridine derivatives as modulators of alpha 2 adrenergic receptors. US Patent US20130030014A1
Sinha SC, Wang L, Chow K, Dibas MI, Garst ME (2013) N-(imidazolidin-2-ylidene)quinoline derivatives as modulators of alpha 2 adrenergic receptors. US Patent WO2013016178A1
Sullivan DM, Rowe TC, Ostrov DA, Turner JG (2012) Novel drug targets to overcome de novo drug-resistance in multiple myeloma.US Patent WO2012075484A2
Szacoń E, Rządkowska M, Kaczor AA, Kędzierska E, Fidecka S, Matosiuk D (2015) Synthesis, central nervous system activity and structure-activity relationships of novel 1-(1-alkyl-4-aryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazo)-3-substituted urea derivatives. Molecules 20:3821–3840
Tsivitis A, Wang A, Murphy J, Khan A, Jin Z, Moore R, Tateosian V, Bergese S (2023) Anesthesia, the developing brain, and dexmedetomidine for neuroprotection. Front Neurol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1150135
Verma A, Joshi S, Singh D (2013) Imidazole: having versatile biological activities. J Chem. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/329412
Vijesh AM, Isloor AM, Telkar S, Arulmoli T, Fun HK (2013) Molecular docking studies of some new imidazole derivatives for antimicrobial properties. Arabian J Chem 6:197–204
Wade M, Li YC, Wahl GM (2013) MDM2, MDMX and p53 in oncogenesis and cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer 13:83–96
Wang WZ, Yuan WJ, Ren AJ, Pan YX, Tang CS, Su DF (2003) Role of I1-imidazoline receptors within the caudal ventrolateral medulla in cardiovascular responses to clonidine in rats. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 42:1–9
Wasilewska A, Sączewski F, Hudson AL, Ferdousi M, Scheinin M, Laurila JM, Rybczyńska A, Boblewski K, Lehmann A (2014) Fluorinated analogues of marsanidine, a highly α2–AR/imidazoline I1 binding site-selective hypotensive agent. Synthesis and biological activities. Eur J Med Chem 87:386–397
Wikel JH, Brownstein MJ (2013) Malignant and non-malignant disease treatment with Ras antagonists. US Patent US9738614B2
Wright JM, Dobosiewicz MRS, Clarke PBS (2012) α- and β-Adrenergic receptors differentially modulate the emission of spontaneous and amphetamine-induced 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in adult rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 37:808–821
Wróblewska M, Kasprzyk J, Sączewski F, Kornicka A, Boblewski K, Lehmann A, Rybczyńska A (2013) Marsanidine and 7-Me-marsanidine, the new hypotensive imidazoline augment sodium and urine excretion in rats. Pharmacol Rep 65:1025–1032
Wu J, Zhang Y, Maida LE, Santos RG, Welmaker GS, LaVoi TM, Nefzi A, Yu Y, Houghten RA, Toll L, Giulianotti MA (2013) Scaffold ranking and positional scanning utilized in the discovery of nAChR-selective compounds suitable for optimization studies. J Med Chem 56:10103–101117
Zhang Q, Zeng SX, Lu H (2014) Targeting p53–MDM2–MDMX loop for cancer therapy. Subcell Biochem 85:281–319
Zhao Y, Bernard D, Wang S (2013) Small molecule inhibitors of MDM2–p53 and MDMX–p53 interactions as new cancer therapeutics. BioDiscovery 8:4
Ziefler D, Haxhiu MA, Kaan EC, Papp JG, Emsberger P (1996) Pharmacology of moxonidine on I1-Imidazoline receptor agonist. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 27:S26-37
Acknowledgments
CCM thanks Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India, for financial support in the form of research grants ECR/2016/000337 and CRG/2020/004509. CCM also appreciates NIT Manipur for financial and research support. AKK and RG acknowledge Ministry of Education for fellowship support.
Funding
Funding was provided by Science and Engineering Research Board (IN) (Grant nos. ECR/2016/000337 and CRG/2020/004509).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Kabi, A.K., Gujjarappa, R., Singh, V. et al. Biological impacts of imidazoline derivatives. Chem. Pap. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-024-03496-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-024-03496-1