Antiestrogen basicity-activity relationships: a comparison of the estrogen receptor binding and antiuterotrophic potencies of several analogs of (Z)-1,2-diphenyl-1-4-[2-(dimethylamino)ethoxyphenyl]-1-butene (Tamoxifen, Nolvadex) having altered basicity

A series of N-substituted (Z)-1,2-diphenyl-1-4-(2-aminoethoxy)phenyl-1-butenes, analogues of the antiestrogen tamoxifen (Nolvadex), in which the side-chain basicity is varied over a wide range, has been prepared to probe the importance of basicity in evoking estrogen antagonism. All of the compounds, except the pyrrole analogue 14, were found to possess significant antiestrogenic activity in the rat, as measured by their ability to inhibit estrogen-induced uterine growth. This implies that in the tamoxifen series the level of side-chain basicity, at least in the Lowry-Brønsted sense, is not a determining factor in the estrogen antagonist potencies of these compounds.