Field of the invention

The present invention relates to novel N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine and - homopiperazine compounds and personal care compositions comprising one or more of said compounds.

Background of the invention

Young and healthy looking skin is a desirable attribute worldwide and the market for cosmetic products capable of improving our skin appearance is significant and growing. As we age, our natural ability to maintain young and healthy looking skin diminishes and, consequently, our skin appearance changes in response to the biological processes that take place within the skin at the cellular level. Modulation of these processes at the skin surface via intervention of specific pathways with diverse cosmetic ingredients can improve skin health and appearance. Numerous examples of how cosmetic ingredients can modulate appearance via this type of intervention are well documented.

Increased cell proliferation and migration, as well as epidermal thickness are some of the traits associated with a younger and healthy looking skin phenotype. Among the various pathways leading to such traits, inhibition of the muscarinic cholinergic system, particularly the muscarinic 3 receptor, has been shown to increase cell proliferation and migration in healthy skin. See for example, Grando et al, "Keratinocyte muscarinic acetylcholine receptors: immunolocalization and partial characterization" Journal of Investigative Dermatology (1995), 104, 95-100; Ndoye et al. "Identification and mapping of keratinocyte muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes in human epidermis" Journal of investigative Dermatology (1998) 1 1 1 , 410-416; Nguyen et al "Synergistic control of keratinocyte adhesion through muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes" Exp. Cell. Res. (2004) 294, 534-549; Kurzen et al. "The non-neuronal cholinergic system of human skin" Horm. Metab. Res. (2007) 39, 125-137.

Muscarinic receptor antagonists have been claimed in medications used to treat skin diseases. For example, WO01 10427 describes the use of anti-muscarinic agents to treat skin disorders including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, eczema, urticaria, acne, etc. WO09068876 describes the use of muscarinic receptor antagonists with antibacterial and sebum suppressive activities in the manufacture of medicaments to treat bacterial skin infections. Further, WO09150408 and WO09068876 describe the use of muscarinic receptor antagonists in compositions to treat acne and seborrhea, for example.

Various compositions comprising some N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine derivatives or related structures have been described, for example in US20070004750 (Dow AgroSciences, LLC); WO2006056752 (Aztrazeneca UK Limited); Zha et al., "Synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies for hydantoins and analogues as voltage-gated sodium channel ligands", Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2004) 47, 6519-6528; WO03037271 (Millenium Pharmaceuticals); WO9718203 (Merck Sharp and Dohme Limited); Carceller et al. "(Pyridylcyanomethyl)piperazines as orally active PAF antagonists", Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (1992) 35, 41 18-4134 and EP441226; Di Paco et al. "Derivatives of ethylphenylacetic acid. I", Farmaco, Edizione Scientifica (1956) 1 1 , 540-548; Hromatka et al. "The synthesis of new acylpiperazines", Monatshefte fuer Chemie (1954) 85, 1208-1214; Ogino et al. "Muscarinic M3 receptor antagonists with (2R)-2-[(1 R)-3,3-difluorocyclopentyl]-2-hydroxyphenylacetamide structures. Part 2", Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters (2003) 13, 2167-2172; WO09079392 and US2009069335 (Theravance Inc.). However the specific derivatives used are different from the compounds of our invention. Differences in molecular architecture will likely result in different physicochemical and biological properties. Our compounds, for example, contain up to a single tertiary amine functional group (although the tertiary amine may be replaced by a second amide at the R3 site), but contain no secondary amine functional groups. As our pH data demonstrates, in going from a solution containing a secondary amine compound (2.5% weight/volume) to a solution containing a tertiary amine compound (2.5% weight/volume), the pH decreases from 10.0 to 8.5 for N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines (1 .5 pH unit decrease) and from 9.9 to 9.0 for N- aralkylcarbonyl-homopiperazines (0.9 pH unit decrease). This clearly demonstrates that our compounds are less basic than similar compounds (by "similar" is meant a compound exactly the same but wherein, for example, F¾ is an alkyl group, such as methyl instead of hydrogen and that therefore defines a tertiary amine instead of a secondary amine; see Example 31 versus 30 or 34 versus 33) having secondary amines. That is, they are less basic relative to compounds which have the same structure, but differ in that they have a secondary amine in place of a tertiary amine. In general, compounds of the invention will provide a drop in basicity of at least 0.3 pH units, preferably 0.3 - 4.0 pH units relative to the noted compounds when measured in solution as defined below. Moreover, none of these compounds noted above are recognized for use as cosmetics providing personal care benefits.

The novel N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and -homopiperazine compounds of the invention have several advantages for use in personal care compositions compared to N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine derivatives and muscarinic receptor antagonists described in the prior art. For example, compounds of the invention are not quaternized, which distinguishes them from some of the currently used muscarinic receptor antagonists, for example, oxyphenonium bromide, glycopyrrolate, ipatropium, and tiotropium to name a few. By "not quaternized" is meant that they do not have an additional bond attaching an alkyl group to the nitrogen atom of the tertiary amine which provides a permanent positive charge. Quaternized compounds are less desirable because they do not penetrate skin as effectively compared to when they are in an unquaternized form. The novel unquarternized N-aralkylcarbonyls of the invention are thus better suited for skin applications. As noted, the novel N-aralkylcarbonyls of our invention are non-quaternized and contain a maximum of one tertiary amine group. Thus, in compounds of our invention (defined by Formula I below), for example, F¾ may be alkyl (forming a compound with one amide and one tertiary amine group because of the alkyl at F¾); or F¾ may be a carbonyl group (C=0), forming a compound having amide groups at both N atoms. Further, because of the presence of at least one amide group (even if F¾ is alkyl and forms a tertiary amine), the compounds of our invention have lower pKa and are less basic than other muscarinic receptor antagonists known in the art. More specifically, they are less basic than other muscarinic receptor antagonists reported which either contain at least one basic amine group (e.g., primary or secondary amine) and/or, if they have tertiary amines, do not comprise an amide bond (which provides an inductive effect lowering the electron density of other potential secondary and tertiary amines) and therefore do not obtain lowered pKa and basicity (measured by lower pH in solution). In short, compared to other muscarinic receptor antagonists containing cyclic structures with secondary or tertiary amine (alkylpyrrollidine, alkylpiperidine, N-alkyl pyrrolidine, N-alkylpiperidine, etc.), the novel compounds of our invention have lower pKa and are less basic, as measured by dissolving equimolar amounts of inventive or comparative compounds in organic solvent and diluting with sufficient water to provide a 1 to 5% solution, preferably 2 to 4% solution (weight/volume) of the compound in the water-organic solvent homogeneous solution. Preferably, the drop in pH between comparative compound and inventive compound, when measured in solution, will be 0.3 to 4 pH units.

Specifically, for example, the pH of a 2.5% solution of the tertiary N-aralkylcarboxamido- piperazine (Example 3, ID 3c) is 8.5 compared to its corresponding secondary amine structure (N-methyl to N-H replacement) which has a pH of 10.0; this represents a 1.5 pH unit decrease from comparative secondary amine (sec) to inventive tertiary amine (tert) compound; and the pH of a 2.5% solution of the tertiary N-aralkylcarbonyl- homopiperazine (Example 5, ID 3e) is 9.0 compared to its corresponding secondary amine structure which has a pH of 9.9; this represents a 0.9 pH unit decrease from sec to tert. This clearly demonstrates that compounds of the invention are less basic than similar compound with corresponding secondary amines.

Some examples of piperazine compounds which are disclosed and which differ from those of the invention because of the presence of primary or secondary amines include WO 2009/079392 (amidine), US 2009/069335 (guanidine), compounds in Ogino et al., Bioorganic & Medicinal chemistry Letters (BMCL) 13 (2003), 2167-217 (diofluoro compounds with primary and/or secondary amines). In US 2008/269190 is disclosed a compound where the piperidine group is quaternized to form an ammonium group. These quaternized-piperidine ammonium compounds represent a different class of compounds with different particularities compared to their corresponding secondary or tertiary (non-quaternized) counterparts. Further, the ammonium structures have a permanent positive change (quaternary). For skin applications such compounds penetrate less and are less desirable. Generally compounds with high pKa (typically providing solutions of higher pH) are less desirable for skin compositions as they can be more corrosive and irritating to the skin. They can form charged species, which are difficult to formulate, and thus deliver less effectively to the skin. By contrast, novel compounds of our invention are milder to the skin (less basic), penetrate better because they are less charged, and are easier to formulate in personal care compositions. Further, the novel N- aralkylcarbonylcompounds of the invention do not contain ester functional groups, unlike many of the currently used muscarinic receptor antagonists such as oxybutynin, hyoscyamine, dicyclomine, and propiverine to name a few. Compounds with ester groups are less desirable for skin compositions since they are prone to hydrolysis once formulated, especially under high heat storage conditions. Our compounds contain tertiary amide bonds which are known to be more stable than their corresponding esters.

Summary of the invention

The present invention is based at least in part on the finding that certain novel N- aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and -homopiperazines (Structure I below) are effective at inhibiting the muscarinic 3 receptor and increasing cell proliferation, thereby providing cosmetic benefits for personal care. The novel compounds of the invention have at least one amide group defined by Structure I to the right (preferably directly to the right) of the Ri and R2 groups. The N-R3, group may also be amide or a tertiary amine (no secondary or primary amine is present). Presence of only amide groups, or combination of amide and tertiary amine groups provides molecules which have lower pKa and are less basic (as measured by drop in pH units, when pH of solution of comparative compound is measured relative to pH of solution of inventive compound) than other muscarinic receptor antagonists of which applicants are aware.

The invention further relates to personal care compositions, preferably anti-aging compositions, comprising the novel N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and homopiperazines compounds of Structure I. The compositions of the invention may comprise one or more N-aralkylcarbonylpiperazines; or one or more -homopiperazines; or mixtures of one or more compounds from each group. The invention also provides methods of enhancing cell proliferation, enhancing cell migration, and increasing epidermal thickness, all traits associated with younger, healthy skin and improving personal care. The method comprises applying to a person desirous of, or in need of, such enhanced cell attributes a composition comprising the novel compounds of the invention. The composition may be applied in the form of a liquid, lotion, fluid cream, cream, gel, serum, paste, foam, spray, aerosol, roll-on, stick, solid, soft solid and/or any other cosmetically acceptable carrier for skin.

Detailed description of the invention

Except in the examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word "about." All amounts are by weight of the final composition, unless otherwise specified.

It should be noted that in specifying any range of concentration or amount, any particular upper concentration can be associated with any particular lower concentration or amount.

For the avoidance of doubt, the word "comprising" is intended to mean "including" but not necessarily "consisting of" or "composed of." In other words, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive.

Unless indicated otherwise, all percentages for amount or amounts of ingredients used are to be understood to be percentages by weight.

The disclosure of the invention as found herein is to be considered to cover all embodiments as found in the claims as being multiply dependent upon each other irrespective of the fact that claims may be found without multiple dependency or redundancy.

N-ARALKYLCARBONYL-PIPERAZINES AND -HOMOPIPERAZINES Novel N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and

-homopiperazines compounds of the invention have Structure I as set forth below:

wherein n = 0 or 1 and wherein when n = 1 , Ri is selected from hydrogen or hydroxyl, R2 is selected from cyclohexyl or cyclopentyl and R3 is selected from the group consisting of C1-C3 alkyl (e.g., methylethyl) or C1-C4 arylalkyl (by which is meant a Ci to C ₄ alkyl group directly attached to the aryl group, e.g., phenylbutyl); and when n = 0, Ri and R2 are as defined above (e.g., Ri is hydrogen or hydroxyl; R2 is cyclohexyl or cyclopentyl) and R3 is selected from the group consisting of C-i-Cs alkyl, wherein the Ci to Cs group may be linear, cyclic or branched; arylalkyl where the alkyl component has Ci to C ₄ chain, wherein the alkyl group may be linear, branched, saturated, or unsaturated, and wherein the alkyl group may be unsubstituted or substituted with one or two lower (Ci to C3) alkyl or alkoxy groups such as alcohol or ether; aroylalkyl, wherein the alkyl group may be unsubstituted or substituted with one or two lower (Ci to C3) alkyl or alkoxy groups; arylalkanoyl; or aryloxyalkyl; and when n = 0, Ri = hydrogen, R2 = cyclohexyl, R3 cannot be benzyl or (E)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1 -yl.

It will be understood that amine salts (e.g., halogen salts, tosylates, mesylates, carboxylates (e.g., C2 to C12 alkylcarboxylates which may be linear, branched or cyclic; and saturated or unsaturated), hydroxides, and any other counterions used in, for example, cosmetic industry) of the compound of Structure I are also considered to be covered by the structure). Salt formation helps provide isolation and purification benefits prior to formulation. During formulation, the salt form can be changed and optimized for maximum delivery.

In one preferred combination of the compound noted above, n = 1 , Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is Ci to C3 alkyl, especially CH3 (see Example 5). In another preferred combination, n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is arylalkyl, especially an aryl- C3-alkyl group such as phenylpropyl (see Example 1 1 ).

Other preferred combinations include the following: n = 1 , Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclohexyl and R3 is methyl (see Example 7); n = 1 , Ri is hydrogen, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is methyl (see Example 6); n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aryl-C4-alkyl (branched) group, e.g., 4-phenylbut-2-yl (see Example 14 where butyl group is branched); n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aryl-C4-alkyl (linear) group, e.g., 4-phenylbut-1-yl (see Example 19 where butyl group is linear); n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aryloxy-C2-alkyl group, e.g., 2-phenoxyeth-1-yl (see Example 20); n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aroyl-C2-alkyl group, e.g., 3- phenyl-3-ketopropan-1-yl (see Example 23); n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aroyl-Ci-alkyl group, e.g., 2- phenyl-2-ketoeth-1-yl (see Example 25) and n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is an aryl-C3-alkanoyl group, e.g.,

3-phenylpropano-1 -yl.

Other preferred compounds include the following:

1 ) n = 1 , Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is methyl

2) n = 1 , Ri is hydrogen, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is methyl

3) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is 3-phenylprop-1-yl.

4) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R3 is 4-phenylbut-1-yl. 5) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 4-phenylbut-2-yl.

6) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is an aryloxy-C2-alkyl group

7) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 2-phenoxyeth-1-yl.

8) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 2-phenoxyeth-1-yl.

9) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is an aroyl-Ci-alkyl group.

10) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is an aroyl-C2-alkyl group.

1 1 ) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 2-phenyl-2-ketoeth-1-yl.

12) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 2-phenyl-2-ketoeth-1-yl.

13) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 2-phenyl-2-ketoeth-1-yl.

14) n = 0, Ri is hydroxyl, R2 is cyclopentyl and R ₃ is 3-phenylpropano-1 -yl.

Of course, combinations of any of the noted compounds are also preferred.

As with primary and secondary amines, and as noted above, quaternary ammonium compounds, i.e. containing a permanently charged nitrogen, are not included within the scope of the invention. Quaternary ammonium compounds are not desirable because it is difficult to achieve effective skin penetration for such quaternary ammonium compounds. It can be observed from Structure I that one nitrogen atom on the piperazine ring forms an amide (upper left nitrogen in Structure I) and one nitrogen generally forms a tertiary amine (although, as in Example 27, it may also form an amide). As such, the compounds will typically have lower pKa (and pH) than corresponding structures having secondary or primary amine (see Comparative Example 31 versus Example 30). Preferably, pKa values are less than 9.0 , preferably between 9 and 7. Lower pH or basicity is defined by having a drop in 0.3 to 4 pH units when measured by dissolving equimolar amounts of inventive compounds or comparative compounds (same as inventive but, unlike inventive which has only tertiary amine or amide, has secondary or primary amine) in organic solvent, and diluting with sufficient water to provide 1 to 5% solution (weight/volume) of the compounds in the water-organic solvent homogeneous solution.

Further, compounds of the invention are not quaternized, and there is more effective delivery to skin. It is noted that the bond distance between the carbon to which Ri and R2 are attached and the ring nitrogen attached to the carbonyl group is less than 3 angstroms. Typically, it is about 2.2 to 2.9, preferably 2.2 to 2.7 angstroms, most preferably 2.4 to 2.6. Amounts of the N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and/or -homopiperazines in compositions of the invention may range from 0.001 % to 20%, preferably from 0.01 to 10%, more preferably from 0.1 to about 10%, optimally from 0.1 to about 5% by weight of the composition. The compositions comprise one or more N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines; or one or more N-aralkylcarbonyl-homopiperazines; or a mixture of one or more compounds from each group.

Reagents & Analytical Methods All reagents and solvents were obtained from commercial sources (Sigma-Aldrich, EMD Chemicals) and used without further purification unless otherwise indicated.

Parallel reactions and parallel solvent removal were performed using a Buchi Syncore reactor (Buchi Corporation, New Castle, DE). Reaction monitoring was performed using thin layer chromatography (TLC). TLC was performed using silica gel 60 F254 plates (EMD Chemicals) and visualizing by UV (254nm), 4% phosphomolybdic acid

(PMA) in ethanol (EtOH), 4% ninhydrin in EtOH and/or using an iodine chamber. Flash chromatography (FC) was performed using a Biotage SP4 system (Biotage LLC, Charlottesville, VA). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed using a Waters 2695 Separations Module equipped with a Waters 2996 Photodiode Array Detector and operated with Empower Pro software (Waters Corp.). Separations were carried out at 1 ml/min on a Restek Pinnacle DB C18 column (5um, 4.6 X 150mm) maintained at 30 °C. Samples for HPLC were prepared by dissolving sample in mobile phase A:B (1 :1 ) (1 mg/ml) and injecting 5-10μί onto the column. The mobile phase consisted of A = 0.1 % trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in water and B = 0.1 % TFA in acetonitrile (ACN) operated using gradient elution from 95:5 A:B to 5:95 A:B (gradient, 25min) followed by 100% B (isocratic, 5min). Gas Chromatography (GC) was performed using an Agilent 7890A Gas Chromatograph equipped with an Agilent DB- 5HT (15m X 0.32mm; 0.1 u) column and an FID detector heated @ 325°C. Samples were prepared at 25ppm concentrations in acetone and the injection volume was 1 uL. The air, helium and hydrogen flows were maintained @ 400, 25 and 30ml/min and the separation gradient consisted of 100°C (isothermal, 1 min), 15°C/min up to 250°C, 250°C (isothermal, 4min), 25°C/min up to 300°C, and 300°C (isothermal, 3min). Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was performed using a Finnigan Mat LCQ Mass Spectrometer via direct infusion of samples (50ppm) in methanol and the total ion count monitored using electrospray ionization in the (+) mode (ESI+). Proton ( ¹ H) and Carbon ( ¹³ C) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was performed using a Eft-60 NMR Spectrometer (Anasazi instruments, Inc.) and processed using WinNuts software (Acorn NMR, Inc.). Melting points were determined using a Meltemp apparatus (Laboratory Devices). Purity was determined by HPLC- UVA is and/or GC. All compounds were unequivocally confirmed by LC-MS and/or 1 H NMR.

a All compounds purified by FC on silica gel. M = methanol; C = chloroform; E = ethyl acetate; H = hexanes.

b Purity determined by HPLC-UV.

c Expressed as [M+H] ⁺ mass observed @ 100% abundance.

General Procedure I: Amines (1.0 equivalents) were added to solutions of carboxylic acid (1.0 equivalents), hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) (1.25 equivalents) and 1 -ethyl-3-(3- dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide) (EDCI) (1 .05 equivalents) in dimethylformamide (DMF) (0.7M solution), followed by diispropylethylamine (DI PEA) (1 .0 equivalents) and the mixture stirred at RT for 16h. The reactions were monitored by TLC using either methanokchloroform (MeOhLCHC ) or ethyl acetate:hexanes (EA:HEX) mixtures and PMA staining until substantial amount of product was observed. The solutions were partitioned between 15% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in CHCI3: 1 N NaOH (5vol:5vol) and the organic layer dried with sodium sulfate (Na2SC>4), filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo. The crude products were purified by FC on silica gel using suitable solvent mixtures from MeOFLCHC or EA:HEX depending on TLC conditions. For highly polar compounds, TEA was added in the mobile phase at concentrations anywhere from 0.1 to 1 %. Product purity was determined by HPLC and product identity confirmed by LC- MS (ESI+) and/or ¹ H NMR.

Reaction Scheme I I

9% AcOH / DCE ⁶ < ^X = ^Η · ^alk V')

a All compounds purified by FC on silica gel. M = methanol; C = chloroform; E = ethyl acetate; H = hexanes.

b Purity determined by HPLC-UV.

c Expressed as [M+H] ⁺ mass observed @ 100% abundance.

General Procedure II

STEP 1 : t-Butyloxycarbonylpiperazine (1.0 equivalent) was added to solutions of carboxylic acids (1 .0 equivalents), HOBt (1.25 equivalents) and EDCI (1 .05 equivalents) in DMF (0.7M solution), followed by DIPEA (1.0 equivalents) and the mixture stirred at RT for 16h. The reactions were monitored by TLC using either MeOHiCHC or EA:HEX mixtures and PMA staining until substantial amount of product was observed. The reaction mixtures were diluted with MTBE (5vol) and sequentially washed with 0.1 N HCI (1vol), sat'd NaHCC>3 (1vol), dried with Na2S0 ₄ , filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo. The crude product H-S1-P was pure enough to be used without purification for the next step.

STEP 2: Trifluoroacetic acid (5ml per gram of 5) was added to a solution of 5 in CHCI3 (5ml per gram of 5) and allowed to sit at R.T. for 1 h. At this time, the solvents were removed in vacuo and the residue dissolved in 15% I PA in CHCI3 (15ml per gram of 5), washed with 1 N NaOH:sat'd NaCI solution (1 :1 ; 1vol), dried with Na2S0 ₄ , filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo. The crude product 6 obtained was sufficiently pure to be used without purification for the next step.

STEP 3: Polystyrene cyanoborohydride resin (1.5 equivalents) was added to mixtures of aldehydes (1.1 equivalents) or ketones (1.1 equivalents) and 6 (1 equivalent) in 1 ,2- dichloroethylene (DCE) (13ml per gram of 6), followed by glacial acetic acid (AcOH) (10ml per gram of 6) and the mixtures stirred in sealed vessels at R.T. for 1 to 16h. The reactions were monitored by TLC using either MeOH:CHCl3 or EA:HEX mixtures and PMA staining until substantial amount of product was observed. The solids were filtered off and the filtrate diluted with 15% I PA in CHCI ₃ (7vol), washed with 1 N NaOH (1vol), dried with Na2SC>4, filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo. The crude products were purified by FC on silica gel using suitable solvent mixtures from MeOHiCHC or EA:HEX depending on TLC conditions. For highly polar compounds, TEA was added in the mobile phase at concentrations anywhere from 0.1 to 1 %. Product purity was determined by HPLC and product identity confirmed by LC-MS (ESI+) and/or ¹ H NMR. Alternately, a more convenient work-up procedure for STEP 3 involves filtering off the solids and washing with DCE (6ml) and the filtrate stirred with AS-900 resin (1 Og per gram of 6) for 1 h, dried by adding Na2S0 ₄ and stirring, filtered and the solvents removed to give crude product which is purified further.

Reaction Scheme III

a All compounds purified by FC on silica gel. M = methanol; C = chloroform; E = ethyl acetate; H = hexanes.

b Purity determined by HPLC-UV.

c Expressed as [M+H] ⁺ mass observed @ 100% abundance.

General Procedure III: Amines 6 (1.0 equivalent) were added to solutions of alkyl halides (1.0 equivalents) in DMF (10ml per gram of 6), followed by TEA (1 .1 equivalents) and the mixture microwaved @ 60 °C for 1 h or until complete consumption of starting materials. The reactions were monitored by TLC using either MeOH:CHCl3 or EA:HEX mixtures and PMA staining. Upon completion, the reaction mixtures were diluted with 15% IPA in CHCI ₃ (10vol), washed with 1 N NaOH (1vol), dried with Na ₂ S0 ₄ , filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo. The crude products were purified by FC on silica gel using suitable solvent mixtures from MeOH:CHCl3 or EA:HEX depending on TLC conditions. For highly polar compounds, TEA was added in the mobile phase at concentrations anywhere from 0.1 to 1 %. Product purity was determined by HPLC and product identity confirmed by LC-MS (ESI+) and/or ¹ H NMR. Alternately, a more convenient work-up procedure was developed by diluting reaction mixture with DMF (1 vol) and stirring with AS-900 (OH-) resin (5g of resin per gram of 6) for 1 h, filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo to give crude product which is purified further.

Synthesis of Miscellaneous Compounds

6b 10 11

Compound 1 1 : Styrene oxide 10 (59.3μΙ_, 0.52mmol) was added to a solution of 6b (150mg, 0.52mmol) in EtOH (2.4ml) and microwaved @ 100°C for 30min. At this time, TLC (8% MeOH in CHCI3) showed the formation of two major products and a small amount of SM. The solution was microwaved @ 100°C for an additional 30 min, cooled to R.T. and stirred with AS-900 (OH-) (1 g) resin for 1 h, diluted with 15% IPA in CHCI ₃ (6ml) and sat'd NH ₄ CI (6ml), separated and the organic layer dried with Na2S0 ₄ , filtered and the solvents removed in vacuo to give crude product as a colorless oil which solidified upon standing (190mg). The solid was suspended in E:H (1 :1 ), filtered and washed with hexane. It was further crystallized from E:H to give pure MUS-837 (36mg). The filtrate was evaporated and purified by FC on silica gel using 100% EA to give pure MUS-838 (20mg). Product identity was confirmed by ¹ H NMR and LC-MS (M+H ⁺ 409.5); purities (HPLC) ~ 95.6%.

Compound 13: 6b (200mg, 0.7mmol) was added to a solution of 3-phenylpropionic acid 12 (104mg, 0.7mmol), HOBt (1 17mg, 0.9mmol) and EDCI (140mg, 0.7mmol) in DMF (1.5ml), followed by TEA (97μΙ_, 0.7mmol) and the mixture stirred at R.T. for 16h. At this time, TLC (60% E in H) showed the clean formation of product and no S.M. The solution was diluted with EA (10ml), washed sequentially with 10mM HCI (10ml), sat'd NaHC0 ₃ (10ml), dried with Na2S0 ₄ , filtered and the solvents removed to give a colorless gel (224mg). The crude product was purified by FC on silica gel using 60% EA in hexanes to give pure product as a colorless gel (145mg, 50%). Product identity was confirmed by ¹ H NMR and LC-MS (M+H ⁺ 421 .5); purity (HPLC) ~ 99.5%.

EVALUATION OF N-ARALKYLCARBONYL-PIPERAZINES AND - HOMOPIPERAZINES

Muscarinic 3 Receptor Binding Assay The muscarinic 3 receptor binding assay was adapted from Perkin Elmer. Briefly, assay buffer (60μΙ_ of pH 7.4 phosphate saline buffer) was added to polypropylene round bottom 96-well microtiter plates, followed by CHO cell suspension expressing the human M3 receptor (1 mg suspension/ml; 20ug membrane suspension per well). ³ H- Scopolamine (20μΙ_ of a 7.5nM solution) was added to each well and plates were shaken at room temperature for 2h. Atropine (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) was used as a positive control. Test compounds and control samples were prepared in DMSO (20mM) and diluted to give a final concentration of 20μΜ. The reaction mixtures were then added to matrix 96-well GFC filtration microtiter plates that had been previously pretreated with 0.5% polyethylimine (100μΙ_) for 4h and filtered. The binding reactions were terminated by filtering through the GFC plates and washing & filtering with ice-cold phosphate saline buffer (5 X 100μΙ_). Once the filters were dry, microscint scintillation cocktail (100μΙ_^38 added to each well, allowed to sit for 20min and the plates analyzed using a TopCount scintillation counter. Test compounds which showed >50% reduction in ³ H-scopolamine binding at a final concentration of 20μΜ were subjected to further serial dilutions and evaluated at various concentrations to determine their IC50 value. Curve fitting of % inhibition versus concentration using Excell software allowed determination of IC50 values for test compounds.

The IC50 value is the concentration of compound needed to inhibit the muscarinic 3 receptor response by 50% of its maximum response. As the IC50 value for a compound decreases below 10μΜ, its antagonistic potency against the muscarinic 3 receptor increases, which means less of the compound is needed to inhibit the receptor effectively. This thus leads, as noted, to enhanced cell proliferation, enhanced cell migration, etc. Use of 10μΜ to show effect was based on the fact that applicants had identified internally a muscarinic 3 receptor antagonist with ICso of 10μΜ which demonstrated both increased epidermal thickness and increased cell proliferation.

It should be noted that Ki-67 assay (discussed below) is a quantification assay associated with cell proliferation (higher the number of Ki67 positive cells when treated with compound, the higher the cell proliferation rate (associated with young healthy skin)), there is no necessary correlation between IC50 value and cell proliferation. This is because muscarinic pathway (used for IC50 test) is not the only pathway associated with cell proliferation. So there is no guarantee that inhibition of the pathway that leads to IC50 <10μΜ necessarily leads to cell proliferation. For example, a potent inhibitor of the muscarinic pathway (low IC50) may hit other pathways which reduce cell proliferation. Further, there are various muscarinic receptor subtypes which may regulate in different ways. One compound may be a potent inhibitor of muscarinic 3 receptor (which should enhance cell proliferation), but also be a potent inhibitor of muscarinic 1 , 2, 4 or 5 receptor, and this might counter the response and lead to less or no cell proliferation. Ki-67 Assay Using Human Living Skin Equivalents

The living skin equivalents (LSE) were processed as described by Margulis et al. Έ- cadherin suppression accelerates squamous cell carcinoma progression in three- dimensional, human tissue constructs", Cancer Research (2005), 65, 1783-1791 . The cultures were prepared using a human neonatal fibroblast donor and a human aged primary keratinocyte donor from Cascade Biologies (Portland, OR). Briefly, each dermal matrix was prepared from fibroblasts (75K, P3) seeded in collagen and grown for 1wk in medium 106 (Cascade M106-500). The aged keratinocytes (P3) were added to the matrix at 275-300K cells per insert and grown for 3d submerged in JG-I media and exchanged for JG-I I media on the third day, followed by air exposure 2d later. At this point, the JG-I I media was exchanged for JG-AL media until the end of the experiment. Four days after air exposure, samples were split into quadruplicate groups. LSE cultures were either left untreated, vehicle treated (0.1 % DMSO) or dosed with test compounds delivered once per day for 4d. At 8d post air exposure, a 6mm biopsy from each culture was taken and processed for immunohistochemistry (IHC). Briefly, each biopsy was fixed for 3h in neutral buffered formalin, transferred into ethanol (70%) and processed (tissue processing, embedding and sectioning) by AML labs (Baltimore, MD). All precut sections were prepared for IHC using the Superpicture IHC kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Primary rabbit polyclonal Ki-67 antibody (Thermo Scientific, RB-9043-P, 1 :1000) was used as per manufacturer's instructions. Slides were counterstained with haematoxylin and mounted with ClearMount water-soluble mounting medium (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Automated IHC processing for Ki-67 (MACH4 AP) was performed on the Intellipath FLX (Biocare Medical). Slides were cleared in xylene and rehydrated in descending alcohols and brought to water. High heat epitope retrieval was performed by immersing the slides in a citrate buffer and then placing in a decloaking chamber (Biocare Medical). All subsequent steps were performed on the Intellipath FLX. Blocking, prode and polymer incubation was performed for 10 minutes. Slides were incubated with Ki-67 (Thermo Fischer) for 1 h at a 1 :10,000 dilution. The chromagenic stain, Vuclan Fast Red (Biocare Medical) was added to the slides and incubated for 15min. The slides were then removed from the instrument, rinsed with water, dried in a 60°C over for 1 h and placed in xylene and coverslipped. The number of proliferation positive cells (Ki-67 positive) in the basal layer for all samples were determined by enlarging all images to the same size, standardizing the sample area by drawing identical rectangular boxes encompassing the basal layer showing Ki-67 antibody staining and counting the cells using image photography with a 20X objective. The greater the number, the greater the proliferation. All data was analyzed for significance using the t-tests to generate p-values (p-values < 0.01 represent 99% confidence, p values of 0.05 represent 95% confidence both of which are statistically significant). Results were expressed as % increase of Ki-67 stained positive cells over vehicle (0.1 % DMSO). pH Measurements Solutions for pH measurements were prepared by dissolving specific amounts of test compounds into isopropyl alcohol (0.4ml) and diluting with water (0.6ml) to make 1 ml clear colorless homogeneous solutions to give a final concentration of 79mM for each test compound. Equimolar amounts of test compounds were used instead of weight % amounts to ensure a fair (molar-basis) comparison between test compounds. The concentration of 79mM was chosen based on compound 3e which represents a 2.5% solution (weight/volume). The pH of all test solutions was measured @ 22°C using a Corning pH meter model 430 with a flat surface combo w/RJ electrode. The pH meter was calibrated using standard pH 7 & 12 buffers.

Compositions

Cosmetically Acceptable Carrier Compositions of the invention also comprise a cosmetically acceptable vehicle dilutant, dispersant, or carrier for the active components in order to facilitate their distribution when the composition is applied to the skin.

Amounts of the carrier may range from about 1 to about 99.9%, preferably from about 70 to about 95%, optimally from about 80 to about 90% by weight of the composition. Among the useful carriers are water, emollients, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, thickeners and combinations thereof. The carrier may be aqueous, anhydrous or an emulsion. Preferably the compositions are aqueous, especially water and oil emulsions of the W/O or O/W type or multiple emulsions of the W/O/W or 0/ W/O variety. Water when present may be in amounts ranging from about 5 to about 95%, preferably from about 20 to about 70%, optimally from about 35 to about 60% by weight.

Emollient materials may serve as cosmetically acceptable carriers. These may be in the form of silicone oils, natural or synthetic esters, hydrocarbons, alcohols and fatty acids. Amounts of the emollients may range anywhere from about 0.1 to about 95%, preferably between about 1 and about 50% by weight of the composition.

Silicone oils may be divided into the volatile and non-volatile variety. The term "volatile" as used herein refers to those materials which have a measurable vapor pressure at ambient temperature. Volatile silicone oils are preferably chosen from cyclic (cyclomethicone) or linear polydimethylsiloxanes containing from 3 to 9, preferably from 5 to 6, silicon atoms. Non-volatile silicone oils useful as an emollient material include polyalkyl siloxanes, polyalkylaryl siloxanes and polyether siloxane copolymers. The essentially non-volatile polyalkyl siloxanes useful herein include, for example, polydimethyl siloxanes with viscosities of from about 5 x 10 ^"6 to 0.1 m ² /s at 25°C. Among the preferred non-volatile emollients useful in the present compositions are the polydimethyl siloxanes having viscosities from about 1 x 10 ^"5 to about 4 x 10 ^"4 m ² /s at 25°C.

Another class of non-volatile silicones are emulsifying and non-emulsifying silicone elastomers. Representative of this category is Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer available as Dow Corning 9040, General Electric SFE 839, and Shin-Etsu KSG-18. Silicone waxes such as Silwax WS-L (Dimethicone Copolyol Laurate) may also be useful.

Among the ester emollients are:

a) AlkyI esters of saturated fatty acids having 10 to 24 carbon atoms. Examples thereof include behenyl neopentanoate, isononyl isonanonoate, isopropyl myristate and octyl stearate.

b) Ether-esters such as fatty acid esters of ethoxylated saturated fatty alcohols. c) Polyhydric alcohol esters. Ethylene glycol mono and di-fatty acid esters, diethylene glycol mono- and di-fatty acid esters, polyethylene glycol (200-6000) mono- and di- fatty acid esters, propylene glycol mono- and di-fatty acid esters, polypropylene glycol 2000 monostearate, ethoxylated propylene glycol monostearate, glyceryl mono- and di-fatty acid esters, polyglycerol poly-fatty esters, ethoxylated glyceryl mono-stearate, 1 ,3-butylene glycol monostearate, 1 ,3-butylene glycol distearate, polyoxyethylene polyol fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid esters, and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters are satisfactory polyhydric alcohol esters. Particularly useful are pentaerythritol, trimethylolpropane and neopentyl glycol esters of C1-C30 alcohols.

d) Wax esters such as beeswax, spermaceti wax and tribehenin wax. e) Sugar ester of fatty acids such as sucrose polybehenate and sucrose polycottonseedate.

Natural ester emollients principally are based upon mono-, di- and tri- glycerides. Representative glycerides include sunflower seed oil, cottonseed oil, borage oil, borage seed oil, primrose oil, castor and hydrogenated castor oils, rice bran oil, soybean oil, olive oil, safflower oil, shea butter, jojoba oil and combinations thereof. Animal derived emollients are represented by lanolin oil and lanolin derivatives. Amounts of the natural esters may range from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the compositions.

Hydrocarbons which are suitable cosmetically acceptable carriers include petrolatum, mineral oil, C11-C13 isoparaffins, polybutenes and especially isohexadecane, available commercially as Permethyl 101A from Presperse Inc.

Fatty acids having from 10 to 30 carbon atoms may also be suitable as cosmetically acceptable carriers. Illustrative of this category are pelargonic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, isostearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, hydroxystearic and behenic acids and mixtures thereof. Fatty alcohols having from 10 to 30 carbon atoms are another useful category of cosmetically acceptable carrier. Illustrative of this category are stearyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol and mixtures thereof. Thickeners can be utilized as part of the cosmetically acceptable carrier of compositions according to the present invention. Typical thickeners include crosslinked acrylates (e.g. Carbopol 982®), hydrophobically-modified acrylates (e.g. Carbopol 1382®), polyacrylamides (e.g. Sepigel 305®), acryloylmethylpropane sulfonic acid/salt polymers and copolymers (e.g. Aristoflex HMB® and AVC®), cellulosic derivatives and natural gums. Among useful cellulosic derivatives are sodium carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methocellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and hydroxymethyl cellulose. Natural gums suitable for the present invention include guar, xanthan, sclerotium, carrageenan, pectin and combinations of these gums. Inorganics may also be utilized as thickeners, particularly clays such as bentonites and hectorites, fumed silicas, talc, calcium carbonate and silicates such as magnesium aluminum silicate (Veegum®). Amounts of the thickener may range from 0.0001 to 10%, usually from 0.001 to 1 %, optimally from 0.01 to 0.5% by weight of the composition. Preferred are emollients that can be used, especially for products intended to be applied to the face, to improve sensory properties and are chosen from the group of oils that do not form stiff gels with compounds of the invention; these include polypropylene glycol- 14 butyl ether otherwise known as Tegosoft PBE, or PPG15 stearyl ether such as Tegosoft E, other oils such as esters, specifically, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl palmitate, other oils could include castor oils and derivatives thereof.

Humectants of the polyhydric alcohol-type can be employed as cosmetically acceptable carriers. Typical polyhydric alcohols include glycerol, polyalkylene glycols and more preferably alkylene polyols and their derivatives, including propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol and derivatives thereof, sorbitol, hydroxypropyl sorbitol, hexylene glycol, 1 ,3-butylene glycol, isoprene glycol, 1 ,2,6- hexanetriol, ethoxylated glycerol, propoxylated glycerol and mixtures thereof. The amount of humectant may range anywhere from 0.5 to 50%, preferably between 1 and 15% by weight of the composition.

Skin moisturizers, e.g. hyaluronic acid and/or its precursor N-acetyl glucosamine may be included. N-acetyl glucosamine may be found in shark cartilage or shitake mushrooms and are available commercially from Maypro Industries, Inc (New York). Other preferred moisturizing agents include hydroxypropyl tri(Ci-C3 alkyl)ammonium salts. These salts may be obtained in a variety of synthetic procedures, most particularly by hydrolysis of chlorohydroxypropyl tri(Ci-C3 alkyl)ammonium salts. A most preferred species is 1 ,2- dihydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, wherein the C1-C3 alkyl is a methyl group. Amounts of the salt may range from about 0.2 to about 30%, and preferably from about 0.5 to about 20%, optimally from about 1 % to about 12% by weight of the topical composition, including all ranges subsumed therein.

Ordinarily the C1-C3 alkyl constituent on the quaternized ammonium group will be methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl or hydroxyethyl and mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred is a trimethyl ammonium group known through INCI nomenclature as a "trimonium" group. Any anion can be used in the quat salt. The anion may be organic or inorganic with proviso that the material is cosmetically acceptable. Typical inorganic anions are halides, sulfates, phosphates, nitrates and borates. Most preferred are the halides, especially chloride. Organic anionic counter ions include methosulfate, toluoyl sulfate, acetate, citrate, tartrate, lactate, gluconate, and benzenesulfonate.

Still other preferred moisturizing agents which may be used, especially in conjunction with the aforementioned ammonium salts include substituted urea like hydroxymethyl urea, hydroxyethyl urea, hydroxypropyl urea; bis(hydroxymethyl) urea; bis(hydroxyethyl) urea; bis(hydroxypropyl) urea; Ν,Ν'-dihydroxymethyl urea; N,N'-di-hydroxyethyl urea; N,N'-di-hydroxypropyl urea; Ν,Ν,Ν'-tri-hydroxyethyl urea; tetra(hydroxymethyl) urea; tetra(hydroxyethyl) urea; tetra(hydroxypropyl urea; N-methyl, N'-hydroxyethyl urea; N- ethyl-N'-hydroxyethyl urea; N-hydroxypropyl-N'-hydroxyethyl urea and N,N'dimethyl-N- hydroxyethyl urea. Where the term hydroypropyl appears, the meaning is generic for either 3-hydroxy-n-propyl, 2-hydroxy-n-propyl, 3-hydroxy-i-propyl or 2-hydroxy-i-propyl radicals. Most preferred is hydroxyethyl urea. The latter is available as a 50 % aqueous liquid from the National Starch & Chemical Division of ICI under the trademark Hydrovance. Amounts of substituted urea that may be used in the topical composition of this invention range from about 0.01 to about 20%, and preferably, from about 0.5 to about 15%, and most preferably, from about 2 to about 10% based on total weight of the composition and including all ranges subsumed therein. When ammonium salt and/or substituted urea are used, in a most especially preferred embodiment at least from about 0.01 to about 25%, and preferably, from about 0.2 to about 20%, and most preferably, from about 1 to about 15% humectant, like glycerine, is used, based on total weight of the topical composition and including all ranges subsumed therein.

Form of the Composition The compositions of the present invention may be formulated as lotion, fluid cream, cream, gel, serum, spray, roll-on, stick. They may be solids or soft-solids as well. In preferred "non-solidness" form, compositions have viscosity, e.g. as measured using a Brookfield DV-I + viscometer (20RPM, RV6, 30 seconds), which in general is in the range of from 1 Pas to 500Pas, preferably from 1 Pas to 200Pas, more preferably from 2Pas to 100Pas, most preferably from 3Pas to 50Pas (measured at room temperature).

Preferably, compositions of the invention are leave-on compositions. That is, they are intended to be applied to remain on the skin. These leave-on compositions are to be distinguished from compositions which are applied to the skin and subsequently removed either by washing, rinsing, wiping, or the like either after or during the application of the product. Surfactants typically used for rinse-off compositions have physico-chemical properties giving them the ability to generate foam/lather in-use with ease of rinse; they can consist of mixtures of anionic, cationic, amphoteric, and nonionic. Surfactants used in leave-on compositions on the other hand are not required to have such properties. Rather, as leave-on compositions, they are not intended to be rinsed-off, they need to be non-irritating, and therefore it is desirable to minimize the total level of surfactant and the total level of anionic surfactant in skin leave-on compositions. Therefore, the compositions of the present invention preferably contain, with respect to surfactants, predominantly nonionic surfactants. The anionic surfactants are present in an amount of at most 5%, preferably from 0.01 to 4%, more preferably from 0.01 to 3%, most preferably from 0.01 to 2% and optimally are substantially absent (less than 1 %, preferably less than 0.1 %, or even less than 0.01 %). Salts of N-aralkylcarbonyl- piperazines and -homopiperazines are not considered anionic surfactants herein. Also, while salts of alkylcarboxlate may or may not be considered as anionic surfactants, their use is typically desirable in leave-on compositions and so need not be minimized. The total level of surfactant in the inventive compositions is preferably no more than 10%, more preferably below 8%, most preferably at most 5%.

The compositions of the present invention are typically in the form of emulsions, which may be oil-in-water, or water-in-oil; preferably the compositions are oil-in-water emulsions. Another preferred format is a cream, furthermore preferably one which has a vanishing cream base. Vanishing cream base is one which comprises 5 to 40% fatty acid and 0.1 to 20% soap. In such creams, the fatty acid is preferably substantially a mixture of stearic acid and palmitic acid and the soap is preferably the potassium salt of the fatty acid mixture, although other counterions and mixtures thereof can be used. The fatty acid in vanishing cream base is often prepared using hystric acid which is substantially (generally about 90 to 95%) a mixture of stearic acid and palmitic acid. A typical hystric acid comprises about 52-55% palmitic acid and 45-48% stearic acid of the total palmitic-stearic mixture. Thus, inclusion of hystric acid and its soap to prepare the vanishing cream base is within the scope of the present invention. It is particularly preferred that the composition comprises higher than 7%, preferably higher than 10%, more preferably higher than 12% fatty acid.

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS

Compositions of the invention may be used to deliver a variety of skin conditioning benefits. "Conditioning" as used herein includes prevention and treatment of aged and photo-damaged skin, appearance of wrinkles, age spots, aged skin, increasing skin firmness, increasing stratum corneum flexibility, lightening skin color, controlling sebum excretion and generally increasing the quality and radiance of skin. The composition may be used to improve fibroblast metabolic activity and proliferation, skin desquamation and epidermal differentiation and improve skin appearance or general aesthetics.

Preferably the pH of the inventive compositions is less than about 8, more preferably is in the range of from 3.5 to 8.0, most preferably is from 5 to 7.8 Once the compound penetrates the skin, it will partition through the layers of the skin and may experience pH changes as well. If the pKa of the compound is too high (meaning that it will be (+)- charged for the most part), the compound will not be sensitive to these pH changes and may not travel and/or partition through the lipophilic (neutral) cell membranes of the skin effectively to reach its target site (epidermis/dermis). The lower the pKa of the compound and the closer it is to neutral pH, the higher the probability that the compound will be able to partition effectively through the layers of the skin to its target site. N-aralkylcarbonyl- piperazine and -homopiperazine compound(s) are preferably included in the inventive compositions in an amount of from 0.001 to 20%, more preferably from 0.01 to 10%, most preferably from 0.1 to 10%, and optimally from 0.1 to 5%. The amounts of the compound(s) or salts thereof are not meant to be included within the surfactants amounts herein. Surfactants

Total concentration of the surfactant when present may range from about 0.1 to about 90%, preferably from about 1 to about 40%, optimally from about 1 to about 20% by weight of the composition, and being highly dependent upon the type of personal care product. The surfactant may be selected from the group consisting of anionic, nonionic, cationic and amphoteric actives. Particularly preferred nonionic surfactants are those with a C10-C20 fatty alcohol or acid hydrophobe condensed with from 2 to 100 moles of ethylene oxide or propylene oxide per mole of hydrophobe; C2-C10 alkyl phenols condensed with from 2 to 20 moles of alkylene oxide; mono- and di-fatty acid esters of ethylene glycol; fatty acid monoglyceride; sorbitan, mono- and di- C8-C20 fatty acids; and polyoxyethylene sorbitan as well as combinations thereof. Alkyl polyglycosides and saccharide fatty amides (e.g. methyl gluconamides) and trialkylamine oxides are also suitable nonionic surfactants. Useful amphoteric surfactants include cocoamidopropyl betaine, C12-C20 trialkyl betaines, sodium lauroamphoacetate, and sodium laurodiamphoacetate.

Preferred anionic surfactants include soap, alkyl ether sulfates and sulfonates, alkyl sulfates and sulfonates, alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkyl and dialkyl sulfosuccinates, Cs- C20 acyl isethionates, C8-C20 alkyl ether phosphates, C8-C20 sarcosinates, C8-C20 acyl lactylates, sulfoacetates and combinations thereof. In compositions containing aralkylcarboxamio-piperazine and -homopiperazine compound(s), the preferred surfactants are high HLB nonionic sugar surfactant with an HLB of at least 7 selected from the group consisting of alkyl polyglucosides, sugar fatty acid esters, aldobionamides, polyhydroxy fatty acid amides and mixtures thereof. Rheology Modifier

A rheology modifier may be included and is selected from the group consisting of silica such as fumed silica or hydrophilic silicas and clays such as magnesium aluminum silicate, betonites, hectorite, laponite, and mixtures thereof. A rheology modifier is employed in an amount of from 0.01 to 2%, preferably from 0.05 to 1 %.

Skin Benefit Ingredients

The inventive composition preferably includes an additional skin lightening compound, to obtain optimum skin lightening performance at an optimum cost. Illustrative substances are placental extract, lactic acid, niacinamide, arbutin, kojic acid, ferulic acid, hydroquinone, resorcinol and derivatives including 4-substituted resorcinols and combinations thereof. More preferably such additional skin lightening compound is a tyrosinase inhibitor to complement the melanogenesis inhibition activity of the substituted monoamines, most preferably a compound selected from the group consisting of kojic acid, hydroquinone and 4-substituted resorcinol. Also dicarboxylic acids represented by the formula HOOC-(CxHy)-COOH where x=4 to 20 and y=6 to 40 such as azelaic acid, sebacic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, octadecenedioic acid or their salts or a mixture thereof, most preferably fumaric acid or salt thereof, especially di-sodium salt. A combination of hydroxyl stearic acid (12-HSA) with fumaric acid or salts thereof is preferred, especially for skin lightening formulations. Amounts of these agents may range from about 0.1 to about 10 %, preferably from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight of the composition. It is preferred that the skin lightening coactive according to the invention is vitamin B3 or a derivative thereof and is selected from the group consisting of niacinamide, nicotinic acid esters, non-vasodilating esters of nicotinic acid, nicotinyl amino acids, nicotinyl alcohol esters of carboxylic acids, nicotinic acid N-oxide, niacinamide N-oxide and mixtures thereof.

Sunscreen is another preferred ingredient of the inventive compositions. Particularly preferred are such materials as ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate (available as Parsol MCX ^® ), Avobenzene (available as Parsol 1789 ^® ), octylsalicylate (available as Dermablock OS ^® ), tetraphthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid (available as Mexoryl SX®), benzophenone-4 and benzophenone-3 (Oxybenzone). Inorganic sunscreen actives may be employed such as microfine titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, polyethylene and various other polymers. By the term "microfine" is meant particles of average size ranging from about 10 to about 200 nm, preferably from about 20 to about 100 nm. Amounts of the sunscreen agents when present may generally range from 0.1 to 30%, preferably from 2 to 20%, optimally from 4 to 10% by weight of the composition.

More preferred inventive compositions include both the additional skin lightening compound, especially tyrosinase inhibitor, and a sunscreen compound.

Another preferred ingredient of the inventive compositions is a retinoid. As used herein, "retinoid" includes all natural and/or synthetic analogs of Vitamin A or retinol-like compounds which possess the biological activity of Vitamin A in the skin as well as the geometric isomers and stereoisomers of these compounds. The retinoid is preferably retinol, retinol esters (e.g., C2 -C22 alkyl esters of retinol, including retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, retinyl propionate), retinal, and/or retinoic acid (including all-trans retinoic acid and/or 13-cis-retinoic acid), more preferably retinoids other than retinoic acid. These compounds are well known in the art and are commercially available from a number of sources, e.g., Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, Mo.), and Boerhinger Mannheim (Indianapolis, Ind.). Other retinoids which are useful herein are described in US 4 677 120 issued June 30 1987 to Parish et al.; US 4 885 31 1 issued Dec. 5 1989 to Parish et al.; US 5 049 584 issued Sep. 17 1991 to Purcell et al.; US 5 124 356 issued Jun. 23 1992 to Purcell et al.; and US Pat. No. Reissue 34,075 issued Sep. 22 1992 to Purcell et al. Other suitable retinoids are tocopheryl-retinoate [tocopherol ester of retinoic acid (trans- or cis-), adapalene {6-[3-(1 -adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoic acid}, and tazarotene (ethyl 6-[2-(4,4-dimethylthiochroman-6-yl)-ethynyl]nicotinate). Preferred retinoids are retinol, retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate, retinyl propionate, retinal and combinations thereof. The retinoid is preferably substantially pure, more preferably essentially pure. The compositions of this invention may contain a safe and effective amount of the retinoid, such that the resultant composition is safe and effective for regulating keratinous tissue condition, preferably for regulating visible and/or tactile discontinuities in skin, more preferably for regulating signs of skin aging, even more preferably for regulating visible and/or tactile discontinuities in skin texture associated with skin aging. The compositions preferably contain from or about 0.005% to or about 2%, more preferably 0.01 % to or about 2%, retinoid. Retinol is preferably used in an amount of from or about 0.01 % to or about 0.15%; retinol esters are preferably used in an amount of from or about 0.01 % to or about 2% (e.g., about 1 %); retinoic acids are preferably used in an amount of from or about 0.01 % to or about 0.25%; tocopheryl- retinoate, adapalene, and tazarotene are preferably used in an amount of from or about 0.01 % to or about 2%.

Preservatives can desirably be incorporated into the cosmetic compositions of this invention to protect against the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms. Suitable traditional preservatives for compositions of this invention are alkyl esters of para- hydroxybenzoic acid. Other preservatives which have more recently come into use include hydantoin derivatives, propionate salts, and a variety of quaternary ammonium compounds. Cosmetic chemists are familiar with appropriate preservatives and routinely choose them to satisfy the preservative challenge test and to provide product stability. Particularly preferred preservatives are phenoxyethanol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, imidazolidinyl urea, sodium dehydroacetate and benzyl alcohol. The preservatives should be selected having regard for the use of the composition and possible incompatibilities between the preservatives and other ingredients in the emulsion. Preservatives are preferably employed in amounts ranging from 0.01 % to 2% by weight of the composition.

Compositions of the present invention may include vitamins. Illustrative vitamins are Vitamin A (retinol), Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), Vitamin Ββ, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K and Biotin. Derivatives of the vitamins may also be employed. For instance, Vitamin C derivatives include ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate and ascorbyl glycoside. Derivatives of Vitamin E include tocopheryl acetate, tocopheryl palmitate and tocopheryl linoleate. DL-panthenol and derivatives may also be employed. A particularly suitable Vitamin Ββ derivative is Pyridoxine Palmitate. Flavonoids may also be useful, particularly glucosyl hesperidin, rutin, and soy isoflavones (including genistein, daidzein, equol, and their glucosyl derivatives) and mixtures thereof. Total amount of vitamins or flavonoids when present may range from 0.0001 to 10%, preferably from 0.01 % to 1 %, optimally from 0.1 to 0.5% by weight of the composition. Another type of useful substance can be that of an enzyme such as oxidases, proteases, lipases and combinations. Particularly preferred is superoxide dismutase, commercially available as Biocell SOD from the Brooks Company, USA. Desquamation promoters may be present. Illustrative are the monocarboxylic acids. Monocarboxylic acids may be substituted or unsubstituted with a carbon chain length of up to 16. Particularly preferred carboxylic acids are the alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids, beta-hydroxycarboxylic or polyhydroxycarboxylic acids. The term "acid" is meant to include not only the free acid but also salts and C1-C30 alkyl or aryl esters thereof and lactones generated from removal of water to form cyclic or linear lactone structures. Representative acids are glycolic, lactic malic and tartaric acids. A representative salt that is particularly preferred is ammonium lactate. Salicylic acid is representative of the beta-hydroxycarboxylic acids. Amounts of these materials when present may range from about 0.01 to about 15% by weight of the composition. Other phenolic acids include ferulic acid, salicylic acid, kojic acid and their salts.

A variety of herbal extracts may optionally be included in compositions of this invention. Illustrative are pomegranate, white birch (Betula Alba), green tea, chamomile, licorice and extract combinations thereof. The extracts may either be water soluble or water- insoluble carried in a solvent which respectively is hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Water and ethanol are the preferred extract solvents.

Also included may be such materials as resveratrol, alpha-lipoic acid, ellagic acid, kinetin, retinoxytrimethylsilane (available from Clariant Corp. under the Silcare 1 M-75 trademark), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and combinations thereof. Ceramides (including Ceramide 1 , Ceramide 3, Ceramide 3B, Ceramide 6 and Ceramide 7) as well as pseudoceramides may also be utilized for many compositions of the present invention but may also be excluded. Amounts of these materials may range from about 0.000001 to about 10%, preferably from about 0.0001 to about 1 % by weight of the composition.

Colorants, opacifiers and abrasives may also be included in compositions of the present invention. Each of these substances may range from about 0.05 to about 5%, preferably between 0.1 and 3% by weight of the composition. The compositions of the present invention may contain a safe and effective amount of a peptide active selected from pentapeptides, derivatives of pentapeptides, and mixtures thereof. As used herein, "pentapeptides" refers to both the naturally occurring pentapeptides and synthesized pentapeptides. Also useful herein are naturally occurring and commercially available compositions that contain pentapeptides. A preferred commercially available pentapeptide derivative-containing composition is Matrixyl™, which is commercially available from Sederma, France. The pentapeptides and/or pentapeptide derivatives are preferably included in amounts of from about 0.000001 % to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.000001 % to about 0.1 %, even more preferably from about 0.00001 % to about 0.01 %, by weight of the composition. In embodiments wherein the pentapeptide-containing composition Matrixyl™ is used, the resulting composition preferably contains from about 0.01 % to about 50%, more preferably from about 0.05% to about 20%, and even more preferably from about 0.1 % to about 10%, by weight of the resulting composition of Matrixyl™.

Additional peptides, including but not limited to, di-, tri-, and tetrapeptides and derivatives thereof, and poly amino acid sequences of molecular weight from 200 - 20000. Amino acids may be naturally occurring or synthetic, dextro or levo, straight chain or cyclized and may be included in the compositions of the present invention in amounts that are safe and effective. As used herein, "peptides" refers to both the naturally occurring peptides and synthesized peptides. Also useful herein are naturally occurring and commercially available compositions that contain peptides.

Suitable dipeptides for use herein include Carnosine. Preferred tripeptides and derivatives thereof may be purchased as Biopeptide CL™. and a copper derivative sold commercially as lamin, from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.).

Further ingredients useful in skin care compositions herein may be selected from any and all: skin conditioning agents, skin feel mildness agents, suspending agents, auxiliary thickening agents, viscosity control agents, dispersants, solubilizing/clarifying agents, stabilizers, opacifiers/pearlescent agents, chelating/sequestering agents, hydrotropes, bactericides/fungicides, antioxidants, pH control agents, buffering agents, colorants and perfumes/fragrances, water, other optional ingredients (auxiliary agents) and the like. The compositions of the present invention can also be optionally, incorporated into a water insoluble substrate for application to the skin such as in the form of a treated wipe.

Method of Making Compositions

Compositions within the scope of this invention were prepared in the following manner. Mix all water soluble ingredients including preservatives, thickening polymer, optionally glycerine, and water and heat to a temperature of 70-90 ^° C. In a separate vessel mix all oil soluble ingredients including sugar surfactant and N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine and/or N-aralkylcarbonyl-homopiperazines to a temperature of 70-90 ^° C. Add the oil phase to the water phase at a temperature of 70-90°C with agitation. Optionally add niacinamide at 45°C followed by addition of fragrance and phenoxyethanol at 40°C. Cool the mixture to room temperature with mixing.

Method of Using Compositions

Composition according to the invention is intended primarily as a product for topical application to human skin, especially as an agent for conditioning and smoothening the skin, and preventing or reducing the appearance of wrinkled or aged skin, or age spots, or lightening of the skin.

More specifically, using compounds of the invention, the compositions are intended to enhance cell proliferation, enhance cell migration and/or increase epidermal thickness, all traits associated with younger, healthier skin.

In use, a small quantity of the composition, for example from 1 to 5 ml, is applied to exposed area of the skin, from a suitable container or applicator and, if necessary, it is then spread over and/or rubbed into the skin using the hand or fingers or a suitable device.

The invention will now be further illustrated in the following non-limiting examples. Examples

Representative N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazines and -homopiperazines of Structure I within the scope of the invention were investigated for inhibition of the muscarinic 3 receptor and the ability to induce cell proliferation in living skin equivalents.

The results show that compounds included in this invention effectively inhibit the muscarinic 3 receptor (Table 1 ). Specifically, compound with I C50 value (defined as the concentration of compound which inhibits muscarinic 3 receptor response 50% of its maximum response) below 10μΜ provide such inhibition. Further, based on testing with at least one other muscarinic 3 receptor antagonist with IC50 value at level of 10μΜ, applicants have noted that this concentration provides significantly enhanced cell proliferation. As seen, all the novel compounds of the invention have IC50 value well below 10μΜ.

TABLE 1

Example Structure

Structure IC50 (μΜ) ID

1 3a 5.3

2 3b 2.1

3 3c 1.4

( 1 ^

The results below show a representative N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine (7d) (Example 29) and a N-aralkylcarbonyl-homopiperazine (3e) (Example 28) included in this invention effectively increasing cell proliferation in human living skin equivalents as measured by Ki-67 staining (Table 2).

TABLE 2

Increase

Example

in Ki-67

Conce

Structure stained

Structure ntratio P-value ID positive

n

cells

over

vehicle

28 3e 10μΜ 56 0.0009 29 7d 10μΜ 127 0.003

Specifically, these compounds provide an increase in Ki-67-stained positive cells (more proliferation) of 56% and 127%, respectively.

The controlled effect and relative position of the amide bond and the tertiary amine group for the compounds included in this invention are critical elements to achieve lower basicity (measured by drop in pH of solution of 0.3-4.0 pH units) while

maintaining high efficacy. For example, representative N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine (3c) (Example 30) (Table 3) included in this invention is less basic than its

corresponding secondary amine derivative (6b) (Example 31 ) (outside of this invention), as demonstrated by direct comparison of the measured pH's from equimolar solutions of each compound (Table 3). In going from secondary amine (6b) with a pH of 10.0 to the corresponding tertiary amine (3c) with a pH of 8.5 there is a 1.5- unit reduction in pH, demonstrating the higher basicity of secondary amine compound (6b). Further evidence demonstrating the inductive effect of the amide bond on the tertiary amine group of the piperazine core structure contained within the compounds of this invention is illustrated by direct comparison of the pH measured between compound (14) (Example 32) (outside of this invention) with a pH of 1 1 .0 and (3c) (Example 30) with a pH of 8.5 which resulted in a 2.5 unit pH reduction in favour of the amido compound (3c). Similarly, representative N-aralkylcarbonyl-homopiperazine (3e) (Example 33) included in this invention is less basic compared to its corresponding secondary amine derivative (6j) (Example 34) (outside of this invention) as

demonstrated by a pH reduction of 0.9 units in favour of (3e). Taking into account the inductive effect of the amido group of the inventive homopiperazine (3e), a total pH reduction of 2.45 units was observed relative to its non-amido homopiperazine compound (15) (Example 35). Overall, the combination and relative position of these critical elements (amide bond and tertiary amine functionality) render the compounds of this invention less basic and more suitable for topical skin application while effective at inhibiting the muscarinic 3 receptor and increasing cell proliferation compared to compounds lacking these critical elements.

TABLE 3

ΗΝ-^Λ

35 15 1 1.5

(Comparative)

EXAMPLE 36

Herein is illustrated a lotion according to the present invention with a formula as outlined in Table 30 below. This formula is packaged in a standard polypropylene bottle with screw-top. A label around the outside of the bottle specifies that the composition has effectiveness against the signs of aging including removal of fine lines and wrinkles.

TABLE 4

INGREDIENT WEIGHT %

PHASE A

Water Balance

Disodium EDTA 0.05

Methyl Paraben 0.15

Magnesium Aluminum Silicate 0.60

Triethanolamine 1.20

Compound 3e 0.1

PHASE B

Xanthan Gum 0.20

Natrosol® 250HHR (ethyl cellulose) 0.50

Butylene Glycol 3.00

Glycerin 2.00

PHASE C

Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate 0.10

Glycerol Monostearate 1.50

Stearyl Alcohol 1.50

Isostearyl Palmitate 3.00

Silicone Fluid 1.00

Cholesterol 0.25

Sorbitan Stearate 1.00

Butylated Hydroxy Toluene 0.05

Vitamin E Acetate 0.01

PEG-100 Stearate 2.00

Stearic Acid 3.00

Propyl Paraben 0.10

Parsol MCX® 2.00 Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride 0.50

Hydroxycaprylic Acid 0.01

C12-15 Alkyl Octanoate 3.00

PHASE D

Vitamin A Palmitate 0.10

Bisabolol 0.01

Vitamin A Acetate 0.01

Fragrance 0.03

Retinol 50C 0.02

Conjugated Linoleic Acid 0.50

EXAMPLE 37

A water-in-oil topical liquid make-up foundation according to invention is described in Table 5 below. This foundation is delivered via a glass screw-top capped bottle. The bottle is placed within an outer carton. Inside the carton is placed instructions for use including applying the foundation to the face to achieve improvements in the signs of aging including enhanced radiance.

TABLE 5

INGREDIENT WEIGHT %

PHASE A

Cyclomethicone 9.25

Oleyl Oleate 2.00

Dimethicone Copolyol 20.00

PHASE B

Talc 3.38

Pigment (Iron Oxides) 10.51

Spheron L-1500 (Silica) 0.50

PHASE C

Synthetic Wax Durachem 0602 0.10

Arachidyl Behenate 0.30

PHASE D

Cyclomethicone 1.00

Trihydroxystearin 0.30

PHASE E

Laureth-7 0.50

Propyl Paraben 0.25

PHASE F

Fragrance 0.05

PHASE G

Water balance

Compound 3e 0.1 -1.0

Methyl Paraben 0.12 Propylene Glycol 8.00

Niacinamide 4.00

Glycerin 3.00

Sodium Chloride 2.00

Sodium Dehydroacetate 0.30

EXAMPLE 38

Illustrated herein is a skin cream incorporating N-aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine compound(s) of our invention. The cream is deposited in a wide-mouth jar with screw- cap top. Printed on the label of the jar are instructions that the cream will control the signs of aging such as hyperpigmentation and sagging skin.

TABLE 6

2 Polyacrylamide(and)C13-14 Isoparaffin(and) Laureth-7, Seppic Corporation, Fairfield, NJ

³ dimethicone(and)dimethiconol, Dow Corning Corp. Midland, Ml

⁴ Sorbitan Monostearate and Sucrococoate, ICI Americas Inc., Wilmington, DE

⁵ Sucrose ester of fatty acid

6 DMDM Hydantoin (and) lodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Lonza Inc., Fairlawn, NJ EXAMPLE 39

Illustrative of another cosmetic personal care composition incorporating N- aralkylcarbonyl-piperazine compounds of our invention is the formula of Table 7. This composition is packaged in a plastic polypropylene tube with flexible side walls for pressing the composition through a tube orifice. Instructions are printed on the outside of the tube directing that the composition be applied to the face and that in a period from about 2 weeks to about 6 months, the signs of aging will have diminished.

TABLE 7

Example 40

A skin conditioning lotion is prepared as follows:

Ingredient % by Weight

Water Balance

Carbopol Ultrez 10 0.8

Polyoxyethylene 21 stearyl ether 0.4

Polysorbate 60 0.3

Glycerine 10.0

Preservative 0.7

Dimethicone crosspolymer 10

NaOH (50 %) 0.5

Dimethicone 1 1 .0

Compound 3e 0.5

Mineral oil 2.0

Polyethylene 4

Fragrance 0.3