Sila-substitution (C/Si exchange) at the 4-position of the piperidine skeleton of the
![](/images/gifchars/sigma.gif)
receptor ligandpanamesine (
1a, EMD 57445) leads to sila-panamesine (
1b). Compounds
1a and
1b were synthesized inmultistep syntheses, starting from 1-benzyl-4-piperidone and tetramethoxysilane, respectively, and wereisolated as the hydrochlorides
1a·HCl and
1b·HCl. ESI-MS studies of aqueous solutions of the silanol
1b and the corresponding disiloxane
14 at different pH values revealed a remarkable stability of
1b. Theidentities of
1a·HCl and
1b·HCl were established by elemental analyses and multinuclear NMR studies.The
1 and
2 receptor affinities of the C/Si analogues panamesine (
1a) and sila-panamesine (
1b) weredetermined in competitive radioligand receptor binding studies. It was shown that the C/Si exchangeresults in a 3-fold enhancement of
1 receptor affinity.