Imidazolo-related compounds, compositions and methods for their use

1. A compound of the formula (I):

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof, wherein

Q is a member selected from the group consisting of —C(O)—, —CH 2 CO—, —CH 2 SO— and —CH 2 SO 2 —;

L is a bond or (C 1 -C 5 )alkylene;

R 0 is hydrogen, halogen, unsubstituted or substituted (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, unsubstituted or substituted (C 1 -C 8 )heteroalkyl, fluoro (C 1 -C 4 )alkyl, unsubstituted or substituted aryl, unsubstituted or substituted heteroaryl, unsubstituted or substituted aryl(C 1 -C 8 )alkyl or unsubstituted or substituted heteroaryl(C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, or optionally, R 0 groups on adjacent carbon atoms may be combined to form an unsubstituted or substituted 5- or 6-membered fused ring;

the subscript n is 0, 1 or 2;

R 1 is unsubstituted or substituted heteroaryl, or unsubstituted or substituted aryl;

R 2 is hydrogen, halogen, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl, (C 2 -C 10 )heteroalkyl, hetero(C 1 -C 10 ) cycloalkyl, (C 1 -C 10 )alkylaryl, or (C 2 -C 10 )heteroalkylaryl;

R 3 is a member selected from the group consisting of —S(O) m R 5 , —S(O) m N(R 8 )R 9 , —S(O) m N(R 8 )CH 2 R 6 , —N(R 8 )SO 2 R 5 , —N(R 8 )CH 2 R 10 ,

wherein

R 5 is selected from the group consisting of(C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, (C 2 -C 8 )heteroalkyl, aryl and heteroaryl;

R 6 and R 7 independently are hydrogen, (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl or (C 2 —C 8 )heteroalkyl,

R 8 is hydrogen, (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, (C 2 -C 8 )heteroalkyl, heteroaryl or aryl,

R 9 is (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl;

R 10 is aryl,

Z is CH or N,

X is a bond, (C 1 -C 6 )alkylene or (C 1 -C 6 )heteroalkylene,

Y is (C 1 -C 6 )alkylene;

the subscript m is 0, 1 or 2; and

R 4 is a member selected from the group consisting of(C 1 -C 20 )alkyl, (C 2 -C 20 )heteroalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, heteroaryl(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl, heteroaryl(C 2 -C 6 )heteroalkyl, aryl(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl and aryl(C 2 -C 6 )heteroalkyl.

2. The compound of claim 1 , having the formula (II):

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof wherein

A 4 is C(R b ) or N;

R a is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR′, —NR′R″, —SR′, -halogen, —SiR′R″R′″, —OC(O)R′, —C(O)R′, —CO 2 R′, —CONR′R″, —OC(O)NR′R″, —NR″C(O)R′, —NR′—C(O)NR″R″′, —NR″C(O) 2 R′, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NH, —NR′C(NH 2 )═NH, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NR′, —S(O)R′, —S(O) 2 R′, —S(O) 2 NR′R″, —CN and —NO 2;

R b is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR′, —NR′R″, —SR′, -halogen, —SiR′R″R′″, —OC(O)R′, —C(O)R′, —CO 2 R′, —CONR′R″, —OC(O)NR′R″, —NR″C(O)R′, —NR′—C(O)NR″R″′, —NR″C(O) 2 R′, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NH, —NR′C(NH 2 )═NH, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NR′, —S(O)R′, —S(O) 2 R′, —S(O) 2 NR′R″, —CN and —NO 2;

each R′, R″and R″′ independently is H, unsubstituted (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, heteroalkyl, unsubstituted aryl, or substituted aryl; and

subscript p is an integer 0, 1, 2 or 3.

3. The compound of claim 2 , wherein A 4 is —C(R b )—.

4. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R 1 is para-cyanophenyl.

5. The compound of claim 1 , having the formula (III):

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof, wherein

subscript q is an integer 0, 1, 2,3,4 or 5; and

each R c is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl, (C 1 -C 8 )heteroalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aryl(C 1 -C 8 )alkyl and heteroaryl(C 1 -C 8 )alkyl.

6. The compound of claim 5 , wherein R 2 is a member selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl, (C 2 -C 10 )heteroalkyl, hetero(C 1 -C 10 )cycloalkyl, (C 1 -C 10 )alkylaryl, and (C 2 -C 10 )heteroalkylaryl.

7. The compound of claim 3 or 5 , wherein R 3 is a member

selected from the group consisting of, —SO 2 CH 3 , —SO 2 CH 2 CH 3 ,

8. The compound of claim 3 or 5 , wherein Q is —C(O)—.

9. The compound according to claim 3 or 5 wherein —L—R 3 when taken together is

10. The compound of claim 1 having the formula (IV):

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof, wherein

R 11 is hydrogen, (C 1 -C 8 )alkyl or (C 2 -C 8 )heteroalkyl.

11. The compound of claim 10 , wherein each R 0 is hydrogen.

12. The compound of claim 10 , wherein R 11 is —H, —CH 3 or —CH 2 CH 2 .

13. The compound of claim 10 , wherein R 3 is a member selected from the

group consisting of —SO 2 CH 3 , —SO 2 CH 2 CH 3 ,

14. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient.