the present invention relates to the use of ω - cycloalkyl 17 - heteroaryl prostaglandin e 2 analogs as ep 2 - receptor agonists . the compounds used in accordance with the present invention are encompassed by the following structural formula i : wherein the substituents and symbols are as hereinabove defined . the dotted lines on bonds between carbons 5 and 6 ( c - 5 ) and carbons 13 and 14 ( c - 13 ) indicate a single or double bond . if two solid lines are used at c - 5 , or c - 13 , it indicates a specific configuration for that double bond . hatched lines used at position c - 8 , c - 9 and c - 11 indicate the a configuration . a triangle at position c - 12 represents orientation . a preferred group of the compounds of the present invention includes compounds that have the following structural formula ii : wherein z is selected from the group consisting of o and s , a is selected from the group consisting of n , — ch , and c , r 5 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halogen , lower alkyl having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and lower alkoxy having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms , r 6 and r 7 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halogen , lower alkyl having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and lower alkoxy having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms , or , together with , r 6 and r 7 forms a condensed aryl ring . in the above formulae , the substituents and symbols are as hereinabove defined . the above compounds of the present invention may be prepared by methods that are known in the art or according to the working examples below . the compounds , below , are especially preferred representative of the compounds of the present invention . a pharmaceutically acceptable salt is any salt which retains the activity of the parent compound and does not impart any deleterious or undesirable effect on the subject to whom it is administered and in the context in which it is administered . of particular interest are salts formed with inorganic ions , such as sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium and zinc . pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared by combining a therapeutically effective amount of at least one compound according to the present invention , or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof , as an active ingredient , with conventional ophthalmically acceptable pharmaceutical excipients , and by preparation of unit dosage forms suitable for topical ocular use . the therapeutically efficient amount typically is between about 0 . 0001 and about 5 % ( w / v ), preferably about 0 . 001 to about 1 . 0 % ( w / v ) in liquid formulations . for ophthalmic application , preferably solutions are prepared using a physiological saline solution as a major vehicle . the ph of such ophthalmic solutions should preferably be maintained between 6 . 5 and 7 . 2 with an appropriate buffer system . the formulations may also contain conventional , pharmaceutically acceptable preservatives , stabilizers and surfactants . preferred preservatives that may be used in the pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention include , but are not limited to , benzalkonium chloride , chlorobutanol , thimerosal , phenylmercuric acetate and phenylmercuric nitrate . a preferred surfactant is , for example , tween 80 . likewise , various preferred vehicles may be used in the ophthalmic preparations of the present invention . these vehicles include , but are not limited to , polyvinyl alcohol , povidone , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , poloxamers , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose and purified water . tonicity adjustors may be added as needed or convenient . they include , but are not limited to , salts , particularly sodium chloride , potassium chloride , mannitol and glycerin , or any other suitable ophthalmically acceptable tonicity adjustor . various buffers and means for adjusting ph may be used so long as the resulting preparation is ophthalmically acceptable . accordingly , buffers include acetate buffers , citrate buffers , phosphate buffers and borate buffers . acids or bases may be used to adjust the ph of these formulations as needed . in a similar vein , an ophthalmically acceptable antioxidant for use in the present invention includes , but is not limited to , sodium metabisulfite , sodium thiosulfate , acetylcysteine , butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene . other excipient components which may be included in the ophthalmic preparations are chelating agents . the preferred chelating agent is edentate disodium , although other chelating agents may also be used in place or in conjunction with it . ingredient amount (% w / v ) active ingredient about 0 . 001 - 5 preservative 0 - 0 . 10 vehicle 0 - 40 tonicity adjustor 1 - 10 buffer 0 . 01 - 10 ph adjustor q . s . ph 4 . 5 - 7 . 5 antioxidant as needed surfactant as needed purified water as needed to make 100 % the actual dose of the active compounds of the present invention depends on the specific compound , and on the condition to be treated ; the selection of the appropriate dose is well within the knowledge of the skilled artisan . the ophthalmic formulations of the present invention are conveniently packaged in forms suitable for metered application , such as in containers equipped with a dropper , to facilitate the application to the eye . containers suitable for dropwise application are usually made of suitable inert , non - toxic plastic material , and generally contain between about 0 . 5 and about 15 ml solution . the invention is further illustrated by the following non - limiting examples , which are summarized in the reaction schemes of fig1 and 2 , wherein the compounds are identified by the same designator in both the examples and the figures . the named compound was purchased from aldrich chemical co ., p . o . box 2060 , milwaukee , wis . 53201 usa . lithium diisopropylamide mono ( thf ) ( 1 . 95 ml of a 2 . 0m solution in heptane / thf / ethylbenzene , 3 . 90 mmol ) was added to a solution of ester 1 ( 0 . 50 g , 3 . 9 mmol ) in thf ( 6 ml ) at − 78 ° c . after stirring 30 min , 2 - thiophenecarboxaldehyde ( 667 mg , 5 . 95 mmol ) was added and the mixture was stirred for 3 h . after the reaction was judged complete by tlc analysis , saturated aqueous nh 4 cl was added and the reaction was slowly warmed to 23 ° c . the thf was evaporated and the reaction mixture was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 ×). the combined organic layers were washed with brine , dried ( naso 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . purification of the residue by flash column chromatography ( fcc ) ( silica gel , 100 % hexane followed by 9 : 1 hexane / etoac ) afforded the above named compound 2 . trimethylsilyliodide ( 20 g , 100 mmol ) was added to ch 3 cn ( 10 ml ) at 0 ° c . and the mixture was allowed to stir 5 min . a solution of alcohol 2 ( 5 g , 20 mmol ) in ch 3 cn ( 10 ml ) was added slowly while the temperature was kept between 4 - 10 ° c . and the reaction was allowed to warm to 23 ° c . after stirring for 2 h at 23 ° c . the reaction was judged complete via tlc analysis . the mixture was poured into 3n naoh at 0 ° c . and etoac was added . the organic layer was separated , washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 2 . 3 g of the above named ester 3 . lithium borohydride ( 435 mg , 20 mmol ) was added to a solution of ester 3 ( 2 . 3 g , 10 mmol ) in et 2 o ( 20 ml ) at 0 ° c . after having stirred for 5 min , meoh ( 640 mg , 20 mmol ) was added dropwise and stirring continued at 0 ° c . until effervescence ceased . the mixture was warmed to 23 ° c . and was allowed to stir an additional hour , at which time the mixture was poured into 3n naoh and stirred an additional 0 . 5 h . the organic layer was separated and washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . the crude alcohol 4 was purified by fcc ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / ch 2 cl 2 ). oxalyl chloride ( 50 ml , 0 . 10 mmol ) was added to ch 2 cl 2 ( 150 ml ) at 23 ° c . and was cooled to − 78 ° c . dmso ( 16 g , 0 . 20 mmol ) was added dropwise to the mixture and stirring was continued for 15 min . a solution of alcohol 4 ( 7 . 9 g , 0 . 041 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ) was then added dropwise , after which et 3 n ( 44 g , 0 . 44 mmol ) was added and the mixture was warmed to 23 ° c . after 1 h , the mixture was poured into saturated aqueous nahco 3 and the organic layer was separated . the aqueous layer was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 ×) and the combined organic portions were washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), concentrated in vacuo and purified by fcc ( silica gel , 100 % hexane followed by 2 : 1 hexane / ch 2 cl 2 ) to afford the above named aldehyde 5 . a solution of propylmagnesium bromide ( 360 ml of a 0 . 5m solution in thf , 0 . 180 mmol ; 0 . 5 m in thf ) was added dropwise to a solution of aldehyde 5 ( 7 . 0 g , 36 mmol ) in thf ( 200 ml ) while the mixture was maintained at ambient temperature . after having stirred 3 h at 23 ° c ., the reaction was poured into saturated aqueous nh 4 cl and extracted with et 2 o . the organic portion was separated and was washed with saturated aqueous nahco 3 , brine , then dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 100 % hexane followed by 1 : 1 , hexane / ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 6 . 2 g of the above named alkyne 6 . a dry round bottom flask was charged with potassium hydride ( 5 . 5 g , 48 mmol ; 35 % by wt dispersion in oil ) and the oil was removed by hexane rinse ( 3 ×). aminopropylamide ( 39 ml ) was added to the mixture and it was stirred until effervescence ceased . the mixture was then cooled to 0 ° c . and the alkyne 6 ( 2 g , 9 . 1 mmol ) was added and the reaction stirred at 23 ° c . for 1 h . the reaction was quenched with meoh ( 2 ml ) and water . the mixture was extracted with et 2 o ( 3 ×) and the combined organic layer was washed with 1n hcl , brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 570 mg of the above named alkyne 7 . to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) solution of alkyne 7 ( 200 mg , 0 . 9 mmol ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) and triethylamine ( 275 mg , 2 . 72 mmol ) was added tert - butyldimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 360 mg , 1 . 36 mmol ) dropwise . after having stirred for 5 min at 0 ° c ., the mixture was warmed to 23 ° c . and stirred an additional hour . the reaction was then quenched with saturated aqueous nahco 3 and extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 ×). the combined organics were washed with 1n hcl , saturated aqueous nahco 3 , brine then were dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 100 % hexane ) gave 695 mg of the above named compound 8 . cp 2 zrhcl ( 304 mg , 1 . 18 mmol ) was added to a solution of alkyne 8 ( 263 mg , 0 . 786 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) at 23 ° c . and stirring was maintained for 20 min . n - iodosuccinimide ( 247 mg , 1 . 18 mmol ) was added to the mixture and stirring was continued for an additional 30 min . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo , diluted with hexane / et 2 o , filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 100 % hexane ) gave 360 mg of the above named compound 9 . the named compound was purchased from nissan chemical industries , ltd , tokyo 101 - 0054 japan . to a solution of vinyl iodide 9 ( 120 mg , 0 . 259 mmol ) in et 2 o ( 1 . 5 ml ) at − 78 ° c . was added t - buli ( 0 . 35 ml of a 1 . 5m solution in thf , 0 . 52 mmol ). after the mixture had stirred 30 min at − 78 ° c . 2 - thienyl ( cyano ) copper lithium ( 1 . 14 ml , 0 . 285 mmol ) was added and stirring was continued for an additional 30 min . the reaction was then treated with a solution of the enone 10 ( 91 . 6 mg , 0 . 259 mmol ) in et 2 o ( 1 ml ). after several minutes had passed , the reaction had solidified and 0 . 5 ml et 2 o was added . the reaction was stirred 1 h at − 78 ° c ., was poured into saturated aqueous nh 4 cl and then was extracted with etoac ( 3 ×). the combined organic portions were washed with brine , filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 100 % hexane ; 9 : 1 hexane / etoac ) gave 63 mg of the above named compound 11 . hydrogen fluoride - pyridine ( 0 . 091 ml ) was added to a solution of the bis - tbs ether 11 ( 63 mg , 0 . 912 mmol ) in ch 3 cn ( 3 ml ) at 23 ° c . after having stirred for 3 h , the mixture was quenched with saturated aqueous na 2 co 3 and extracted with etoac ( 3 ×). the combined organic portions were washed with 1n hcl , saturated aqueous nahco 3 , brine , and were then dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 3 : 2 hexane / etoac followed by 1 : 1 hexane / etoac ) gave a higher r f diol ( 10 mg ) and a lower r f diol ( 30 mg ), hereinafter , designated as named compounds 12h and 12l , respectively ). methyl ester 12h ( 4 . 8 mg , 10 . 4 mmol ) and ple ( 0 . 134 mmol , 45 mmol ) were stirred in phosphate buffer ( 2 ml , ph 7 . 2 ) at 23 ° c . over 16 h . after the reaction was complete , the mixture was filtered and the aqueous phase was extracted with etoac ( 3 ×). the combined organic phases were washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . fcc ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / etoac ; etoac ) gave of the above named acid 13h . methyl ester 12l was reacted according to example 13h to yield the above named compound . the named compound was purchased from nissan chemical industries , ltd , tokyo 101 - 0054 japan . the compound of example 14 , above , was reacted in accordance with the process of example 11 to yield the above named compound . the compound of example 15 is reacted in accordance with the process of example 12 to yield a higher r f diol ( 6 . 0 mg ) and a lower r f diol ( 6 . 0 mg ), hereinafter , designated as 16h and 16l , respectively . the compound 16h of example 16 is reacted in accordance with the process of example 13h to yield the above named compound . the compound 16l of example 16 is reacted in accordance with the process of example 13h to yield the above named compound . examples 14 through 16 is repeated with the appropriate chloro derivative replacing ( z )- 7 -[( r )- 3 -( tert - butyldimethylsilanyloxy )- 5 - oxo - cyclopent - 1 - enyl ] hept - 5 - enoic acid methyl ester 14 and the appropriate chlorothienyl derivative replacing 2 - thienyl ( cyano ) copper lithium to yield a product which is separated to provide a higher r f diol and a lower r f diol designated as 18h and 18l , respectively . the compound of example 18h is reacted according to the process of example 13h to yield the named compound . the compound of example 18l is reacted according to the process of example 13l to yield the named compound . examples 14 through 16 is repeated with the appropriate fluoro derivative replacing ( z )- 7 -[( r )- 3 -( tert - butyldimethylsilanyloxy )- 5 - oxo - cyclopent - 1 - enyl ] hept - 5 - enoic acid methyl ester 14 and the appropriate chlorothienyl derivative replacing 2 - thienyl ( cyano ) copper lithium to yield a product which is separated to provide a higher r f diol and a lower r f diol designated as 20h and 20l , respectively . the compound of example 20h is reacted according to the process of example 13h to yield the named compound . the compound of example 20l is reacted according to the process of example 13l to yield the named compound . examples 14 through 16 is repeated with the appropriate nor keto derivative replacing ( z )- 7 -[( r )- 3 -( tert - butyldimethylsilanyloxy )- 5 - oxo - cyclopent - 1 - enyl ] hept - 5 - enoic acid methyl ester 14 and the appropriate chlorothienyl derivative replacing 2 - thienyl ( cyano ) copper lithium to yield a product which is separated to provide a higher r f diol and a lower r f diol designated as 22h and 22l , respectively . the compound of example 22h is reacted according to the process of example 13h to yield the named compound . the compound of example 22l is reacted according to the process of example 13l to yield the named compound . recombinant ep 2 receptor ; transient transfectants cos - 7 cells were transiently transfected using lipofectin ( gibco - brl life technologies , gaitherburg , md ., u . s . a .) according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s protocols . for binding studies , 2 × 10 6 cells were plated onto 150 mm dishes 24 h prior to transfection . each plate was transfected with 50 μg plasmid dna and 50 μl lipofectin . cells were collected and membranes prepared at 48 h post - transfection , and frozen at − 80 ° c . until use . plasma membrane preparations were thawed at room temperature and used at a final 1 mg / ml concentration in a 500 μl volume . the binding of [ 3h ]- pge 2 ( specific activity 180 ci mmol − 1 ) were determined in duplicate and experiments were replicated three times . incubations were for 60 min at 25 ° c . and were terminated by the addition of 4 ml of ice - cold 50 μm tris - hcl , followed by rapid filtration through whatman gf / b filters and three additional 4 ml washes in a cell harvester ( brandel ). competition studies were performed using a final concentration of 5 nm [ 3 h ]- pge 2 and non - specific binding determined with 10 μm of the respective unlabelled prostanoid . certain of the above compounds were tested for activity in the recombinant human ep 2 receptor assay described above and the results are reported in table 1 , below . note examples 20 and 21 are the unseparated mixtures of examples 20h and 20l and 21h and 21l , respectively . example # structure hep 2 18h 4300 18l 5500 19h 126 19l 300 22h na 22l na 23h 700 23l 2500 20h 5100 20l na 21h 132 21l 300 20 8100 21 112 ep 2 activity indicates that the compounds of this invention are useful in treating asthma , dysmenorrhea as well as glaucoma and lowering intraocular pressure . other potential therapeutic applications are in osteoporosis , constipation , renal disorders , sexual dysfunction , baldness , diabetes , cancer and in disorder of immune regulation . the compounds of the invention may also be useful in the treatment of various pathophysiological diseases including acute myocardial infarction , vascular thrombosis , hypertension , pulmonary hypertension , ischemic heart disease , congestive heart failure , and angina pectoris , in which case the compounds may be administered by any means that effect vasodilation and thereby relieve the symptoms of the disease . for example , administration may be by oral , transdermal , parenterial , subcutaneous , intravenous , intramuscular , intraperitoneal , transdermal , or buccal routes . the compounds of the invention may be formulated into an ointment containing about 0 . 10 to 10 % of the active ingredient in a suitable base of , for example , white petrolatum , mineral oil and petroatum and lanolin alcohol . other suitable bases will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . the pharmaceutical preparations of the present invention are manufactured in a manner which is itself known , for example , by means of conventional dissolving or suspending the compounds , which are all either water soluble or suspendable . for administration in the treatment of the other mentioned pathophysiological disorders . the pharmaceutical preparations which can be used orally include push - fit capsules made of gelatin , as well as soft , sealed capsules make of gelatin and a plasticizer such as glycerol or sorbitol . the push - fit capsules can contain the active compounds in liquid form that may be mixed with fillers such as lactose , binders such as starches , and / or lubricants such as talc or magnesium stearate and , optionally , stabilizers . in soft capsules , the active compounds are preferably dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids , such as in buffered salt solution . in addition , stabilizers may be added . in addition to being provided in a liquid form , for example in gelatin capsule or other suitable vehicle , the pharmaceutical preparations may contain suitable excipients to facilitate the processing of the active compounds into preparations that can be used pharmaceutically . thus , pharmaceutical preparations for oral use can be obtained by adhering the solution of the active compounds to a solid support , optionally grinding the resulting mixture and processing the mixture of granules , after adding suitable auxiliaries , if desired or necessary , to obtain tablets or dragee cores . suitable excipients are , in particular , fillers such as sugars , for example lactose or sucrose , mannitol or sorbitol , cellulose preparations and / or calcium phosphates , for example tricalcium phosphate or calcium hydrogen phosphate , as well as inders such as starch , paste using for example , maize starch , wheat starch , rich starchy , potato starch , gelatin , tragacanth , methyl cellulose , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and / or polyvinyl pyrrolidone . if desired , disintegrating agents may be added such as the above - mentioned starches and also carboxymethyl - starch , crosslinked polyvinyl pyrrolidone , agar , or algenic acid or a salt thereof , such as sodium alginate . auxiliaries are , above all , flow - regulating agents and lubricants , for example , silica , talc , stearic acid or salts thereof , such as magnesium stearate or calcium stearate , and / or polyethylene glycol . dragee cores are provided with suitable coatings which if desired , are resistant to gastric juices . for this purpose , concentrated sugar solutions may be used , which may optionally containing gum arabic , talc , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyethylene glycol and / or titanium dioxide , lacquer solutions and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures . in order to produce coatings resistant to gastric juices , solutions of suitable cellulose preparations such as acetylcellulose phthalate or hydroxypropylmethyl - cellulose phthalate , are used . dye stuffs or pigments may be added to the tables or dragee coatings , for example , for identification or in order to characterize combinations of active compound doses . suitable formulations for intravenous or parenteral administration include aqueous solutions of the active compounds . in addition , suspensions of the active compounds as oily injection suspensions may be administered . aqueous injection suspensions may contain substances which increase the viscosity of the suspension include , for example , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , soribitol , and / or dextran . optionally , the suspension may also contain stabilizers . the foregoing description details specific methods and compositions that can be employed to practice the present invention , and represents the best mode contemplated . however , it is apparent for one of ordinary skill in the art that further compounds with the desired pharmacological properties can be prepared in an analogous manner , and that the disclosed compounds can also be obtained from different starting compounds via different chemical reactions . similarly , different pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared and used with substantially the same result . thus , however detailed the foregoing may appear in text , it should not be construed as limiting the overall scope hereof ; rather , the ambit of the present invention is to be governed only by the lawful construction of the appended claims .
the invention relates to the use of derivatives of e - type prostaglandins as ep 2 agonists , in general , and , in particular as ocular hypotensives . the pge derivatives used in accordance with the invention are represented by the following formula i : wherein the hatched segment represents an a bonds , the solid triangle represents a β bond , the wavy segments represent αor β bond , dashed lines represent a double bond or a single bond , x is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and halogen radicals , r 3 is heteroaryl or a substituted heteroaryl radical , r 1 and r 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen or a lower alkyl radical having up to six carbon atoms , or a lower acyl radical having up to six carbon atoms , r is selected from the group consisting of co 2 r 4 , conr 4 2 , ch 2 or 4 , conr 4 so 2 r 4 , p and wherein r 4 is selected from the group consisting of h , phenyl and lower alkyl having from one to six carbon atoms and n is 0 or an integer of from 1 to 4 .