Novel 1-[2-(diarylmethoxy)ethyl]-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazoles as HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. A structure-activity relationship investigation.

1-[2-(Diarylmethoxy)ethyl]-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazoles (DAMNIs) is a novel family of HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) active at submicromolar concentration. Replacement of one phenyl ring of 1-[2-(diphenylmethoxy)ethyl]-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole (4) with heterocyclic rings, such as 2-thienyl or 3-pyridinyl, led to novel DAMNIs with increased activity. In HIV-1 WT cell-based assay the racemic 1-{2-[alpha-(thiophen-2-yl)phenylmethoxy]ethyl}-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole (7) (EC(50) = 0.03 microM) proved 5 times more active than compound 4. Docking experiments showed that the introduction of a chiral center would not affect the binding of both (R)-7 and (S)-7. The internal scoring function of the Autodock program calculated the same inhibition constant (K(i) = 7.9 nM) for the two enantiomers. Compounds 7 (ID(50) = 8.25 microM) were found more active than efavirenz (ID(50) = 25 microM) against the viral RT carrying the K103N mutation, suggesting for these compounds a potential use in efavirenz based anti-AIDS regimens.

Docking and 3-D QSAR studies on indolyl aryl sulfones. Binding mode exploration at the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase non-nucleoside binding site and design of highly active N-(2-hydroxyethyl)carboxamide and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)carbohydrazide derivatives.

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3-D QSAR) studies and docking simulations were developed on indolyl aryl sulfones (IASs), a class of novel HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors (Silvestri, et al. J. Med. Chem. 2003, 46, 2482-2493) highly active against wild type and some clinically relevant resistant strains (Y181C, the double mutant K103N-Y181C, and the K103R-V179D-P225H strain, highly resistant to efavirenz). Predictive 3-D QSAR models using the combination of GRID and GOLPE programs were obtained using a receptor-based alignment by means of docking IASs into the non-nucleoside binding site (NNBS) of RT. The derived 3-D QSAR models showed conventional correlation (r(2)) and cross-validated (q(2)) coefficients values ranging from 0.79 to 0.93 and from 0.59 to 0.84, respectively. All described models were validated by an external test set compiled from previously reported pyrryl aryl sulfones (Artico, et al. J. Med. Chem. 1996, 39, 522-530). The most predictive 3-D QSAR model was then used to predict the activity of novel untested IASs. The synthesis of six designed derivatives (prediction set) allowed disclosure of new IASs endowed with high anti-HIV-1 activities.

Imidazole analogues of fluoxetine, a novel class of anti-Candida agents.

Imidazole analogues of fluoxetine have been obtained by replacing the methylamino terminus of aminopropane chain with the imidazole ring. The newly designed imidazoles showed potent anti-Candida activity, superior to those of miconazole and other antifungal agents of clinical interest. 1-(4-Chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-3-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)propane (16), the most active among test imidazoles, was about 2-fold more active and as much less cytotoxic than miconazole. High increase of activity was observed with methyl, nitro, fluorine, and chlorine (Cl > F > CH(3) > NO(2) > CF(3)).