The furoxan system as a useful tool for balancing "hybrids" with mixed alpha 1-antagonist and NO-like vasodilator activities.

The design of new vasodilator derivatives in which two different pharmacophoric groups are present in a single molecule has been pursued by substitution of NO-prodrug furoxan moieties for the furanylcarbonyl function in Prazosin, a well-known alpha 1-receptor antagonist. The aim was to obtain new antihypertensive agents in which two vasodilation mechanisms, alpha 1-antagonist and NO-mediated, can operate in an appropriate balance. The alpha 1-antagonist activity was assessed on rat aortic strips in the presence and in the absence of oxyhemoglobin (HbO2), a well-known scavenger of nitric oxide. The resulting hybrids displayed different pharmacological behaviors. When the 4-furoxanylcarbonyl system, bearing an ester or an amide function at the 3-position, was present (derivatives 7a,b), hybrids with predominant alpha 1-antagonist activity were obtained. By contrast, in the derivative 7c, in which the nitrile function is linked to the 3-position of the furoxan ring, the NO-mediated vasodilating properties are predominant. Finally, the (furoxanylsulfonyl)piperidine derivatives 13a,b showed NO vasodilation and alpha 1-antagonist activities in an appropriate balance. For the furoxan derivatives, the NO-dependent vasodilating ability, assessed on the K(+)-depolarized aortic strip, and the NO release features under the action of thiol cofactors are also discussed.