Difluoromethyl Bioisostere: Examining the Lipophilic Hydrogen Bond Donor Concept

There is a growing interest in organic compounds containing the difluoromethyl group, as it is considered a lipophilic hydrogen bond donor that may act as a bioisostere of hydroxyl, thiol, or amine groups. A series of difluoromethyl anisoles and thioanisoles was prepared and their druglike properties, hydrogen bonding, and lipophilicity were studied. The hydrogen bond acidity parameters A (0.085-0.126) were determined using Abraham's solute H-1 NMR analysis. It was found that the difluoromethyl group acts as a hydrogen bond donor on a scale similar to that of thiophenol, aniline, and amine groups but not as that of hydroxyl. Although difluoromethyl is considered a lipophilicity enhancing group, the range of the experimental Delta log P(water octanol)-values (log P(XCF2H) - log P(XCH3)) spanned from -0.1 to +0.4. For both parameters, a linear correlation was found between the measured values and Hammett a constants. These results may aid in the rational design of drugs containing the difluoromethyl moiety.