Searching for novel scaffold of triazole non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase

Abstract

Azoles are a promising class of the new generation of HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). From thousands of reported compounds, many possess the same basic structure of an aryl substituted azole ring linked by a thioglycolamide chain with another aromatic ring. In order to find novel extensions for this basic scaffold, we explored the 5-position substitution pattern of triazole NNRTIs using molecular docking followed by the synthesis of selected compounds. We found that heterocyclic substituents in the 5-position of the triazole ring are detrimental to the inhibitory activity of compounds with four-membered thioglycolamide linker and this substitution seems to be viable only for compounds with shorter two-membered linker. Promising compound, N-(4-carboxy-2-chlorophenyl)-2-((4-benzyl-5-methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)sulfanyl)acetamide, with potent inhibitory activity and acceptable aqueous solubility has been identified in this study that could serve as lead scaffold for the development of novel water-soluble salts of triazole NNRTIs.

• Azoles
• HAART
• HIV reverse transcriptase
• NNRTIs
• triazoles

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Mr. Ł. Piotrowski of the Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry for mass spectra.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The reported studies are supported by the grant 2011/02/A/ST4/00246 (2012–2017) from the Polish National Science Centre (NCN).