Deuterated analogs

[Renald]

What do you think, would deuterated analogs of current drugs have similar pharmacodynamics as "typical" hydrogenated.
Also, if we changed C, N, O with another isotope?

 

[checktest]

There are a couple deuterated drugs out there. Deutetrabenazine comes to mind. It does have a longer half life and appears to be somewhat better tolerated. But part of that is because Huntington's (horrible disease) has been quite difficult to manage, so they'll try a lot, even deuterating a 50-year old drug. Newer, other approaches are more exciting.

Most of those other isotopes in use happen to be radioactive, and can be part of nuclear medicine. C13 has been explored some.

 

[Renald]

And if we changed all (or some) of hydrogens to deuterium in some psychoactive drug? Maybe some of them still maintained the same action?

 

[polymath]

Deuterated chloroform is less toxic than the one with a 1H atom, probably because having a heavier hydrogen atom affects the bond dissociation and formation of reactive metabolites.

Nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of chloroform in mice: effect of deuterium substitution - PubMed

Chloroform (CHCl3) produces renal and hepatic damage in humans and experimental animals. Deuterium-labeled chloroform (CDCl3) has been reported to be less hepatotoxic than CHCl3 in rats. However, this isotope effect has not been determined in other species or in extrahepatic tissues. In this...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Role of intrarenal biotransformation in chloroform-induced nephrotoxicity in rats - PubMed

Various ketonic agents potentiate the hepatic and renal toxicity of halogenated solvents in mice and rats. Characteristics of CHCl3 nephrotoxicity and of 2-hexanone potentiation were evaluated in adult male Fischer 344 rats pretreated with vehicle (oil, 10 ml/kg, po) or 2-hexanone (10 mmol/kg...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

There probably exist some compounds with binding affinities that depend to large degree on the neutron number of the constituent atoms.

Binding Isotope Effects: Boon and Bane

Kinetic isotope effects are increasingly applied to investigate enzyme reactions and have been used to understand transition state structure, reaction mechanisms, quantum mechanical hydride ion tunneling and to design transition state analogue inhibitors. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov