Esters and amides of 6-(chloromethyl)-2-oxo-2H-1-benzopyran-3-carboxylic acid as inhibitors of alpha-chymotrypsin: significance of the "aromatic" nature of the novel ester-type coumarin for strong inhibitory activity.

Abstract

A series of esters and amides of 6-(chloromethyl)-2-oxo-2H-1-benzopyran-3-carboxylic acid were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory activity toward bovine alpha-chymotrypsin and human leukocyte elastase. Both series behaved as time-dependent inhibitors of alpha-chymotrypsin, but ester-type coumarins were clearly more efficient than the corresponding amides in inactivating the serine proteinase. The best inactivations were observed with "aromatic" esters, in particular with meta-substituted phenyl esters such as m-chlorophenyl 6-(chloromethyl)-2-oxo-2H-1-benzopyran-3-carboxylate, which appears to be one of the most powerful inactivators of alpha-chymotrypsin yet reported (kinact/KI = 760,000 M-1 S-1 at pH 7.5 and 25 degrees C). Usually, the coumarin derivatives failed to inhibit significantly human leukocyte elastase. As a result, the reported series of aromatic coumarinic esters behaves as a new chemical family of selective alpha-chymotrypsin inhibitors.