levodopa   Click here for help

GtoPdb Ligand ID: 3639

Synonyms: 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine | Inbrija® (levodopa inhalation powder) | L-DOPA | Sinemet®
Approved drug PDB Ligand
levodopa is an approved drug (FDA (1993), EMA (2003))
Comment: L-DOPA is the precursor to the neurotransmitters dopamine collectively known as catecholamines. Used in the treatment of Parkisons disease. Note a deuterated derivative D3 L-DOPA with enhanced properties is under development.
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2D Structure
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Physico-chemical Properties
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Hydrogen bond acceptors 3
Hydrogen bond donors 4
Rotatable bonds 3
Topological polar surface area 103.78
Molecular weight 197.07
XLogP -2.03
No. Lipinski's rules broken 0
SMILES / InChI / InChIKey
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Canonical SMILES OC(=O)C(Cc1ccc(c(c1)O)O)N
Isomeric SMILES OC(=O)[C@H](Cc1ccc(c(c1)O)O)N
InChI InChI=1S/C9H11NO4/c10-6(9(13)14)3-5-1-2-7(11)8(12)4-5/h1-2,4,6,11-12H,3,10H2,(H,13,14)/t6-/m0/s1
InChI Key WTDRDQBEARUVNC-LURJTMIESA-N
No information available.
Summary of Clinical Use Click here for help
Used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The 2003 EMA approval authorises the use of levodopa in a fixed-dose combination with carbidopa and entacapone (called Stalevo®). The EMA has also approved a combination containing just levodopa and carbidopa (Numient®, 2015).
Mechanism Of Action and Pharmacodynamic Effects Click here for help
Levodopa is the precursor of neurotransmitter dopamine. In Parkinson's disease levels of dopamine are significantly decreased, therefore supplementation of dopamine levels with levodopa means that a small percentage of the drug crosses the blood-brain barrier and is decarboxylated to dopamine which stimulates dopaminergic receptors.
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