Photosensitive and pH-dependent activity of pyrazine-functionalized carbazole derivative as promising antifungal and imaging agent

Carbazole skeleton plays a significant role as a structural scaffold of many pharmacologically active compounds. Pyrazine-functionalized carbazole derivative was constructed by coupling 2-amino-5-bromo-3-methylaminepyrazine (ABMAP) into 3 and 6 positions of the carbazole ring. Multi-experimental methods were used, e.g., potentiometric, spectroscopic (ATR, UV, XRD powder,(1)H and(13)C NMR), electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry), and optical techniques, to receive the complete structural analysis, physicochemical (pKa, logP) and biological profile of a new carbazole derivative with acronym 3,6-PIRAMICAR. The interaction ability of the compound studied with potential cellular targets like Calf Thymus DNA (CT-DNA), or Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) were also taken into account. Experiments showed the existence of strong binding, but no DNA or BSA cleavage was observed. The comparative analyzes of compounds anti-Candida action clearly show pH-dependent antifungal activity of 3,6-PIRAMICAR, which was strongly stimulated in the acidic media. Surprisingly, the titled compound turn out to be much more effective (14 times by MIC50; 8 times by MIC; c.a. 4 times by MFC) against Candida krusei than fluconazole at pH 4.