Evolution of a compact photoprobe for the dopamine transporter based on (±)-threo-methylphenidate

The development of photoaffinity ligands for determining covalent points of attachment to the dopamine transporter (DAT) has predominantly focused on tropane-based compounds bearing variable-length linkers between the photoreactive group and the inhibitor pharmacophore. To expand the array of photoprobes useful for mapping inhibitor-binding pockets within the DAT, a compact nontropane ligand was synthesized featuring a photoreactive azide and iodine tag directly attached to the aromatic ring of (±)-threo- methylphenidate. (±)-threo-4-Azido-3-iodomethylphenidate [(±)-6; K_i = 4.0 ± 0.8 nM] displayed high affinity for hDAT. Moreover, a radioiodinated analogue of (±)-6 demonstrated covalent ligation to the DAT in cultured cells and rat striatal membranes, thus suggesting the potential utility of this photoprobe in DAT structure-function studies.