Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem. The synthesis and evaluation of new antimicrobial compounds, without cytotoxicity against human cells, are highly desired. In this paper, the preparation of a class of pyrimidine-derived disulfides is described. Sulfenic acids were generated from suitable precursors and used as reactive intermediates that condensed with the thiol function of thiocytosine. An introductory study on the antimicrobial activity of this disulfide family is reported. Three family components, that revealed no cytotoxicity against human erythrocytes, exhibited inhibitory activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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Acknowledgements
Authors thank prof. Maria Chiara Aversa for useful discussion.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
Financial support by the Italian Ministry for the University and Research (MIUR) within PON01_01499 and PRIN 20109Z2XRJ_010 is gratefully acknowledged.