The flavin-containing monoamine oxidases (MAO) A and B catalyze the oxidative deamination of primary and secondary amines. The overall process involves a two electron oxidation of the amine to the iminium with concomitantreduction of the flavin. Based on extensive studies with a variety of chemical probes, Silverman and colleagues have proposed a catalytic pathway for the processing of amine substrates and inactivators by MAO-B that is initiated by a single electron transfer (SET) step from the nitrogen lone pair to the oxidized flavin followed by α-proton loss from the resulting amine radical cation that leads to a carbon radical. Subsequent transfer of the second electron leads to the reduced flavin and the iminium product. In the case of N-cyclopropylamines, the initially formed amine radical cation is proposed to undergo rapid ring opening to form a highly reactive primary carbon centered radical that is thought to be responsible for inactivation of the enzyme.

In this thesis we have exploited the unique substrate and inactivator properties of 1,4-disubstituted tetrahydropyridine derivatives to probe the mechanism of MAO-B catalysis. Reports of the parkinsonian inducing neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) as a structurally unique substrate of MAO-B initiated these studies. Consistent with the SET pathway, the N-cyclopropyl analog of MPTP proved to be an efficient time and concentration dependent inactivator but not a substrate of MAO-B. On the other hand, the 4-benzyl-1-cyclopropyl analog is both a substrate and inactivator of MAO-B. These properties may not be consistent with the obligatory formation of a cyclopropylaminyl radicalcation intermediate. In an attempt to gain further insight into the mechanism associated with the MAO catalyzed oxidation of 1,4-disubstituted tetrahydropyridines, deuterium isotope effects studies on both the substrate and inactivation properties of the 4-benzyl-1- cyclopropyl derivative were undertaken. A series of 1-methyl- and 1-cyclopropyltetrahydropyridine derivatives bearing various heteroaro-matic groups at C-4 also have been examined. The MAO-B substrate properties, inactivator properties and partition ratios for these compounds together with preliminary results from chemical model studies are discussed in terms of the MAO-B catalytic pathway.