Synthesis and Biological Activity of Peptide Derivatives of Iodoquinazolinones/Nitroimidazoles

Two substituted quinazolinyl/imidazolyl-salicylic acids 5, 6 were synthesized by the reaction of 6-iodo-2-methylbenzoxazin-4-one/5-nitroimidazole with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). Coupling of compounds 5 and 6 with different amino acid ester hydrochlorides, dipeptide and tripeptide methyl esters yielded novel quinazolino/imidazolopeptide derivatives 5a-f and 6a-g. The chemical structures of all newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by means of FT-IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR, MS and elemental analysis. Selected peptide ester derivatives were further hydrolyzed by using lithium hydroxide (LiOH) to afford the corresponding acid derivatives 5b(a)-d(a) and 6e(a)-g(a). All peptide derivatives were assayed for antimicrobial and anthelmintic activities against eight pathogenic microbes and three earthworm species. Among the tested compounds, 5e, 5d, 6e and their hydrolyzed analogs 5d(a) and 6e(a) exhibited higher antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans, and 5a, 6g and 6g(a) displayed better antifungal activity against the dermatophytes Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum audouinii. Moreover, 6f and its hydrolyzed derivative 6f(a) showed good anthelmintic activity against Megascoplex konkanensis, Pontoscotex corethruses and Eudrilus eugeniea at dose of 2 mg mL(–)(1).