Synthesis and evaluation of 4-(1-aminoalkyl)-N-(4-pyridyl)cyclohexanecarboxamides as Rho kinase inhibitors and neurite outgrowth promoters

The influence of stereochemistry and alkyl side chain length on the bioactivity of the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 [(+)-1, R = Me] was examined by the synthesis of (+)- and (−)-1, and two alkyl chain analogs (+)- and (−)-2 (R = n-propyl) and (−)-3 (R = n-octyl) as well as their evaluation in enzymatic and neurite outgrowth assays.