Dipeptidyl peptidase III (DPP III), also known as enkephalinase B, is a zinc-hydrolase with an indicated role in the mammalian pain modulatory system. In order to find a potent antagonist of this enzyme, we synthesized and screened the effect of a small set of benzimidazole derivatives on its activity. To improve the inhibitory potential, a cyclobutane ring was introduced as rigid conformation support to the diamidino substituted dibenzimidazoles. Two such compounds (1' and 4') from the group of cyclobutane derivatives containing amidino-substituted benzimidazole moieties, obtained by photochemical cyclization in water and by respecting rules of the "green chemistry" approach, were found to be strong DPP III inhibitors, with IC(50) value below 5 microM. Compound 1' displayed time-dependent inhibition towards human DPP III, characterized by the second-order rate constant of 6924+/-549 M(-1)min(-1) (K(i)=0.20 microM). The peptide substrate valorphin protected the enzyme from inactivation by 1'.