Alkoxyphenylthiazoles with broad-spectrum activity against multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacterial pathogens

Abstract

With the continued rise of antibiotic resistance and reduced susceptibility to almost all front-line antibiotics, multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacterial infections represent an incessant threat to healthcare providers. This study presents a new series of phenylthiazole compounds where two active moieties were combined into one scaffold. The antibacterial activity of the hybrid structures extended to include several clinically-relevant multi-drug resistant pathogens including methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, cephalosporin-resistant and methicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Listeria monocytogenes. In addition, the most potent compounds, 16a and 17a, exhibited a fast bactericidal mode of action in vitro with low susceptibility to induce bacterial resistance. In addition to its potent spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacterial pathogens, compound 17a was found to be metabolically stable in rats, with a half-life of 4 h.