Design, Synthesis, Antifungal Activities and 3D-QSAR of New N,N′-Diacylhydrazines Containing 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy Moiety

A series of new N,N′-diacylhydrazine derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their structures were verified by (1)H-NMR, mass spectra (MS) and elemental analysis. The antifungal activities of these N,N′-diacylhydrazines were evaluated. The bioassay results showed that most of these N,N′-diacylhydrazines showed excellent antifungal activities against Cladosporium cucumerinum, Corynespora cassiicola, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Erysiphe cichoracearum, and Colletotrichum orbiculare in vivo. The half maximal effective concentration (EC(50)) of one of the compounds was also determined, and found to be comparable with a commercial drug. To further investigate the structure–activity relationship, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) was performed on the basis of antifungal activity data. Both the steric and electronic field distributions of CoMFA are in good agreement in this study.