The modulation of gene regulation by blocking the interaction between the thyroid receptor (TR) and obligatecoregulators has been reported recently with the discovery of the lead compound 3-(dimethylamino)-1-(4-hexylphenyl)propan-1-one). Herein we report studies aimed at optimization of this initial hit to determinethe basic parameters of the structure-activity relationships and clarify the mechanism of action. Thesestudies provided new insights, showing that activity and TR isoform selectivity is highly correlated withthe structural composition of these covalent inhibitors.