Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Synthesis of topically effective intraocular pressure lowering agents derived from 5-(omega-aminoalkylcarboxamido)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-sulfonamide.

Reaction of the acyl chlorides of phthalimido-glycine or phthalimido-beta-alanine with 5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-sulfonamide afforded after hydrazinolysis and deprotection of the phthalimido group the corresponding 5-(omega-aminoalkylcarboxamido)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-sulfonamides. Reaction of 5-(beta-aminoethylcarboxamido)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-sulfonamide with sulfonyl halides or acyl halides afforded a series of compounds possessing beta-alkyl/arylsulfonyl/carbonylamidoethylcarboxamido moieties in the 5 position of the thiadiazole-2-sulfonamide ring. The new derivatives were efficient inhibitors of three carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozymes, CA I, II (cytosolic forms) and IV (membrane-bound form), but especially against CA II and CA IV (in nanomolar range), the two isozymes known to play an important role in aqueous humor secretion within the ciliary processes of the eye. Some of the synthesized inhibitors possessed good water solubility (as hydrochlorides or sodium salts) and were applied as 2% solutions directly into the eye of normotensive or glaucomatous albino rabbits. Very strong intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering was observed for many of them for prolonged periods of 1-2 h, and the active drug was detected in eye tissues and fluids indicating that the antiglaucoma effect is due to CA inhibition within the eye.