Discovery of a Novel Non-Narcotic Analgesic Derived from the CL-20 Explosive: Synthesis, Pharmacology and Target Identification of Thio-wurtzine, a Potent Inhibitor of the Opioid Receptors and the Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels

The number of candidate molecules for new non-narcotic analgesics is extremely limited. Here we report the identification of thiowurtzine, a new potent analgesic molecule with promising application in chronic pain treatment. We describe the chemical synthesis of this unique compound derived from the hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) explosive molecule. Then we use animal experiments to assess its analgesic activity in vivo upon chemical, thermal and mechanical exposures, compared to the effect of several reference drugs. Finally, we investigate the potential receptors of thiowurtzine in order to better understand its complex mechanism of action. We use docking, molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations to identify and characterize the potential targets of the drug and confirm the results of the animal experiments. Our findings finally indicate that thiowurtzine may have a complex mechanism of action, by targeting the mu, kappa, delta and ORL1 opioid receptors, and the voltage-gated calcium channels as well.