开题报告内容：（包括拟研究或解决的问题、采用的研究手段及文献综述，不少于2000字）
Review:
Epilepsy is the most prevalent neurological disorder, affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. Despite significant advances have been made in epilepsy research, convulsions in about 30% of epileptics are still inadequately controlled by standard drug therapy. For this reason, constant attempts are made to investigate new chemical agents and mechanisms through which epilepsy can be effectively controlled.
Therefore, in the previous studies, a series of 1-[(4-arylpiperazin-1-yl)-propyl]-succinimides as potential anticonvulsant agents were synthesized. This series compoundsrsquo; role as 5-HT1A and 5-HT7 receptor ligands in relation to the control of seizures was determined.
On the other hand, our target lactone-based compounds are similar to the substitued succinimides and maybe a new drug for epilepsy.
Aims:
Aim 1: Synthesize and characterize a series of arylpiperidinyl, lactone-based compounds (e.g. 3,3-dimethyl-5-(2-(4-(p-tolyl)piperazin-1-yl)ethyl)dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one, 3,3-dimethyl-5-(2- (4-phenylpiperidin-1-yl)ethyl)dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one) as serotonin 5-HT1a and 5-HT7 receptor antagonists.
Aim 2: Evaluate the anticonvulsant activity of compounds in standard mouse models of epilepsy (e.g., maximal electroshock [MES] and pentylenetetrazole [PTZ]).
Methods:
Target ligands will be synthesized by four steps through four intermediates A, B1, B2 and C.
