Peptidyl-urea based inhibitors of soluble epoxide hydrolases

We prepared a series of amino acid derived cyclohexyl and adamantyl ureas and tested them as inhibitors of the human soluble epoxide hydrolase, and obtained very potent compounds (K(I)=15nM) that are >10-fold more soluble than previously described sEH inhibitors. While our lead compound 2 showed low apparent bioavailability in dogs and rats, this series of compounds revealed that sEH inhibitor structures could accept large groups that could lead to better orally available drugs.