Starting from (S)- or (R)-aspartate, three synthetic strategies were explored to prepare hydroxyethyl substituted piperazines with different substituents at the N-atoms. σ receptor affinity was recorded using receptor material from both animal and human origin. σ1 affinities determined with guinea pig brain and human RPMI 8226 tumor cell lines differed slightly but showed the same tendency. (S)-2-[4-(Cyclohexylmethyl)-1-(naphthalene-2-ylmethyl)piperazin-2-yl]ethanol (7c) revealed the highest affinity at human σ1 receptors (Ki = 6.8 nM). The potent σ1 receptor ligand 7c was able to inhibit selectively the growth of three human tumor cell lines with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. The reduced growth of the RPMI-8226 cell line was caused by apoptosis. The interaction of 7c with the σ1 receptor was analyzed in detail using the 3D homology model of the σ1 receptor. The calculated free binding energies of all hydroxyethylpiperazines nicely correlate with their recorded affinities toward the human σ1 receptor.
