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Unique coumarin aminophosphonates as new antibacterial agents were designed and synthesized to combat severely bacterial resistance. Bioactivity assessment identified that 3-hydroxylphenyl aminophosphonate 6f with low hemolytic activity not only exhibited excellent inhibition potency against Staphylococcus aureus at low concentration (0.5 μg/mL) in vitro but also showed considerable antibacterial potency in vivo. Meanwhile, the active compound 6f was capable of eradicating the S. aureus biofilm, thus alleviating the development of S. aureus resistance. Furthermore, the drug combination of compound 6f with norfloxacin could enhance the antibacterial efficacy. Mechanistic explorations manifested that molecule 6f was able to destroy the integrity of cell membrane, which resulted in the leakage of protein and metabolism inhibition. The cellular redox homeostasis was interfered through inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), leading to the reduction of glutathione (GSH) activity and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, compound 6f could intercalate into DNA base pair to hinder normal biological function. The above results provided powerful information for the further development of coumarin aminophosphonates as antibacterial agents.

A novel type of coumarin thiazoles as unique multi-targeting antimicrobial agents were developed through four steps including cyclization, nucleophilic substitution and condensation starting from commercial resorcine. Most of the prepared coumarin thiazoles displayed favorable inhibitory potency against the tested strains. Noticeably, methyl oxime V-a exerted potent inhibitory efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at low concentration (1 μg/mL) and showed broad antimicrobial spectrum. Medicinal bioevaluations revealed that the active molecule V-a exhibited low toxicity toward mammalian cells, rapidly killing effect, good capability of eradicating MRSA biofilms and unobvious probability to engender drug resistance. Chemical biological methods were employed to investigate preliminary mechanism, which indicated that compound V-a was able to damage the integrity of membrane to trigger leakage of protein, insert into MRSA DNA to block its replication and induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit bacterial growth. Computational study manifested that low HOMO-LUMO energy gap of molecule V-a was favorable to exert high antimicrobial activity.

Unique coumarin conjugates with thiazolidinone as novel structural antibacterial modulators were exploited to combat the lethal multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Bioactivity evaluation identified that indole-incorporated coumarin thiazolidinone conjugate 14a with low cytotoxicity to mammalian cells showed a broad antibacterial spectrum and exerted potent inhibition efficiencies to the tested germs at low concentrations (0.25-2 μg/mL). Moreover, the favorable performance of 14a in eradicating bacterial biofilm was beneficial to avert developing drug resistance. Mechanistic explorations revealed that molecule 14a was able to destroy cell membrane, leading to the leakage of intracellular materials and metabolism inhibition. The accumulation of excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated by compound 14a could impede glutathione (GSH) activity and induce lipid peroxidation to suppress bacteria growth. Furthermore, compound 14a could not only intercalate into DNA base pair but also take part in non-covalent interaction with DNA gyrase B to hinder their biological function. Quantum chemical study indicated that molecule 14a had low HOMO-LUMO energy gap, which resulted in more stabilizing interactions and was conducive to displaying better antibacterial activity. ADMET analysis manifested that 14a possessed promising pharmacokinetic properties.

A series of novel naphthalimide aminothiazoles were developed for the first time and evaluated for their antimicrobial activity. Some prepared compounds possessed good inhibitory activity against the tested bacteria and fungi. Noticeably, the piperazine derivative 4d displayed superior antibacterial activity against MRSA and Escherichia coli with MIC values of 4 and 8 μg/mL, respectively, to reference drugs. The most active compound 4d showed low toxicity against mammalian cells with no obvious triggering of the development of bacterial resistance, and it also possessed rapid bactericidal efficacy and efficient membrane permeability. Preliminarily investigations revealed that compound 4d could not only bind with gyrase–DNA complex through hydrogen bonds but could effectively intercalate into MRSA DNA to form 4d–DNA supramolecular complex, which might be responsible for the powerful bioactivity. Further transportation behavior evaluation indicated that molecule 4d could be effectively stored and carried by...

A series of novel naphthalimide-derived metronidazoles as new type of antimicrobial agents were for the first time designed, synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and HRMS spectra. Experimental results revealed that most of them displayed moderate to good antibacterial activity towards Gram-positive and negative bacteria. Especially, compound 7b was able to not only exhibit effective inhibition towards the growth of P. vulgaris (MIC = 0.002 μmol/mL) and S. dysenteriae (MIC = 0.01 μmol/mL), but also have rapidly killing effect and prevent the development of bacterial resistance. Further research revealed that the highly active molecule 7b could not only intercalate into calf thymus DNA to form a steady supramolecular complex and thus might block DNA replication to exert the powerful bioactivities, but also be effectively transported by human serum albumin (HSA) via the formation of the 1:1 supramolecular complex, in which hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic effect played important roles in the association of compound 7b with HSA. Molecular docking indicated that the supramolecular interactions between 7b and topoisomerase II were driven by hydrogen bonds.

A series of novel benzimidazolyl tetrahydroprotoberberines were conveniently designed and efficiently synthesized from berberine via direct cyclization of tetrahydroprotoberberine aldehyde and o-phenylene diamines under metal-free aerobic oxidation. All the new compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS spectra. The antimicrobial evaluation revealed that the 5-fluorobenzimidazolyl derivative 5b was the most active antibacterial and antifungal molecule with broad spectrum in comparison to Berberine, Chloromycin, Norfloxacin and Fluconazole. It triggered almost no resistance development against MRSA even after 15 passages. Further studies demonstrated that compound 5b could not only effectively interact with Topo IA by hydrogen bonds, but also intercalate into calf thymus DNA and cleave pBR322 DNA, which might be responsible for its powerful bioactivities.

A series of novel benzimidazole quinolones as potential antimicrobial agents were designed and synthesized. Most of the prepared compounds exhibited good or even stronger antimicrobial activities in comparison with reference drugs. The most potent compound 15m was membrane active and did not trigger the development of resistance in bacteria. It not only inhibited the formation of biofilms but also disrupted the established Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli biofilms. It was able to inhibit the relaxation activity of E. coli topoisomerase IV at 10 μM concentration. Moreover, this compound also showed low toxicity against mammalian cells. Molecular modeling and experimental investigation of compound 15m with DNA suggested that this compound could effectively bind with DNA to form a steady 15m-DNA complex which might further block DNA replication to exert the powerful bioactivities.

A novel series of benzotriazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and MS spectra. The bioactive assay manifested that most of the new compounds exhibited moderate to good antibacterial and antifungal activities against the tested strains in comparison to reference drugs chloromycin, norfloxacin and fluconazole. Especially, 2,4-dichlorophenyl substituted benzotriazole derivative 6f displayed good antibacterial activity against MRSA with MIC value of 4 μg/mL, which was 2-fold more potent than Chloromycin, and it also displayed 3-fold stronger antifungal activity (MIC = 4 μg/mL) than fluconazole (MIC = 16 μg/mL) against Beer yeast. The preliminary interactive investigations of compound 6f with calf thymus DNA revealed that compound 6f could effectively intercalate into DNA to form compound 6f–DNA complex which might block DNA replication to exert antimicrobial activities. Molecular docking experiments suggested that compound 6f projected into base-pairs of DNA hexamer duplex forming two hydrogen bonds with guanine of DNA. The theoretical calculations were in accordance with the experimental results.

A series of azolylthioetherquinolones was synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR, MS and HRMSspectroscopy. All the newly prepared compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities. Bioactive assay manifested that most of the azolylthioether quinolones exhibited good antimicrobial activities. Especially, imidazolylthioether quinolone 4e displayed remarkable anti-MRSA and anti-P. aeruginosa efficacies with low MIC values of 0.25 μg mL−1, even superior to reference drugs. They induced bacterial resistance more slowly than clinical drugs. Molecular docking study indicated strong binding interactions of compound 4e with topoisomerase IV–DNA complex, which correlated with the inhibitory effect. The preliminarily interactive investigation of compound 4e with genomic DNA isolated from MRSA revealed that compound 4e could intercalate into MRSA DNA through a copper ion bridge to form a steady 4e–Cu2+–DNA ternary complex which might further block DNA replication to exert the powerful bioactivities.

A series of novel aminopyrimidinyl benzimidazoles as potentially antimicrobial agents were designed, synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR and HRMS spectra. The biological evaluation in vitro revealed that some of the target compounds exerted good antibacterial and antifungal activity in comparison with the reference drugs. Noticeably, compound 7d could effectively inhibit the growth of A. flavus, E. coli DH52 and MRSA with MIC values of 1, 1 and 8 μg/mL, respectively. Further studies revealed that pyrimidine derivative 7d could exhibit bactericidal mode of action against both Gram positive (S. aureus and MRSA) and Gram negative (P. aeruginosa) bacteria. The active molecule 7d showed low cell toxicity and did not obviously trigger the development of resistance in bacteria even after 16 passages. Furthermore, compound 7d was able to beneficially regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation for an excellent safety profile. Molecular docking study revealed that compound 7d could bind with DNA gyrase by the formation of hydrogen bonds. The preliminary exploration for antimicrobial mechanism disclosed that compound 7d could effectively intercalate into calf thymus DNA to form a steady supramolecular complex, which might further block DNA replication to exert the powerful bioactivities. The binding investigation of compound 7d with human serum albumins (HSA) revealed that this molecule could be effectively transported by HSA.

A series of novel Schiff base-bridged tetrahydroprotoberberine (THPB) triazoles were designed, synthesized and characterized for the first time. Antimicrobial assay showed that some of the prepared compounds exerted stronger antibacterial and antifungal activities than the reference drugs. Especially, THPB triazole 7a gave low MIC values of 0.5, 1 and 2 μg mL−1 against B. yeast, M. luteus and MRSA, respectively. Further experiments indicated that the highly active molecule 7a was able to rapidly kill the MRSA strain and did not trigger the development of bacterial resistance even after 14 passages. The preliminary exploration for the antimicrobial mechanism revealed that compound 7a could effectively intercalate into calf thymus DNA to form a 7a–DNA supramolecular complex, and its Zn2+ complex had the ability to directly cleave pUC19 DNA, which suggested that compound 7a might be a potentially dual-targeting antibacterial molecule. It was also found that compound 7a could be efficiently stored and carried by human serum albumin (HSA), and the hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds played important roles in the transportation of HSA to the active molecule 7a.

In an effort for the development of novel antimicrobial agents, ethylenic conjugated coumarin thiazolidinediones as potential multi-targeting new antimicrobial compounds were synthesized through convenient procedures from commercially available resorcinol and were evaluated for their antimicrobial potency. Bioactive evaluation revealed that some of the prepared compounds showed strong antimicrobial activities towards the tested microorganisms including clinically drug-resistant strains. Especially, propargyl derivative 12b exhibited effective anti-MRSA potency with MIC value of 0.006 μmol/mL, which was highly advantageous over clinical antibacterial drug norfloxacin. Compound 12b showed rapid killing effect, low toxicity against hepatocyte LO2 cell line, and no obvious drug resistance development against MRSA. Preliminary exploration of action mechanism manifested that molecule 12b acted upon MRSA through forming stable supramolecular complex with bacterial DNA which might impede DNA replication. Molecular docking showed that compound 12b could bind with DNA-gyrase through hydrogen bonds.

Imidazole ring is an important five-membered aromatic heterocycle widely present in natural products and synthetic molecules. The unique structural feature of imidazole ring with desirable electron-rich characteristic is beneficial for imidazole derivatives to readily bind with a variety of enzymes and receptors in biological systems through diverse weak interactions, thereby exhibiting broad bioactivities. The related research and developments of imidazole-based medicinal chemistry have become a rapidly developing and increasingly active topic. Particularly, numerous imidazole-based compounds as clinical drugs have been extensively used in the clinic to treat various types of diseases with high therapeutic potency, which have shown the enormous development value. This work systematically gives a comprehensive review in current developments of imidazole-based compounds in the whole range of medicinal chemistry as anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, antitubercular, anti-inflammatory, antineuropathic, antihypertensive, antihistaminic, antiparasitic, antiobesity, antiviral, and other medicinal agents, together with their potential applications in diagnostics and pathology. It is hoped that this review will be helpful for new thoughts in the quest for rational designs of more active and less toxic imidazole-based medicinal drugs, as well as more effective diagnostic agents and pathologic probes.

A novel series of quinolone triazoles were synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR, MS and HRMS spectra. All the newly prepared compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities against seven bacteria and four fungi. Bioactive assay manifested that most of new compounds exhibited good or even stronger antibacterial and antifungal activities against the tested strains including multi-drug resistant MRSA in comparison with reference drugs Norfloxacin, Chloromycin and Fluconazole. The preliminary interactive investigations of compound 6b with calf thymus DNA by fluorescence and UV-vis spectroscopic methods revealed that compound 6b could effectively intercalate DNA to form compound 6b-DNA complex which might block DNA replication and thus exert its antimicrobial activities.

A series of clinafloxacin triazole hybrids as a new type of antibacterial and antifungal agents were synthesized for the first time and screened for their antimicrobial efficacy against four Gram-positive bacteria, four Gram-negative bacteria and two fungi by two fold serial dilution technique. The bioactive assay indicated that most of the target compounds displayed broad antimicrobial spectrum and good antibacterial and antifungal activities with low MIC values ranging from 0.25 to 2 μg/mL against all the tested strains which exhibited comparable or even better efficiency in comparison with the reference drugs Chloramphenicol, Clinafloxacin and Fluconazole, respectively. Notably, some synthesized clinafloxacin triazoles showed stronger efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus than their parent Clinafloxacin.

The thiophene-derived amido bis-nitrogen mustard N2,N2,N5,N5-tetrakis(2-chloroethyl)-3,4-dimethylthiophene-2,5-dicarboxamide was designed and synthesized via five-step reactions from commercially available 2-chloroacetonitrile. This target compound was confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, IR spectra and elemental analyses, and its structure was further characterized by X-ray single-crystal analysis. The biological activities for the title compound and some intermediates were evaluated in vitro for their antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities. The preliminary results showed that the title compound could inhibit efficiently the growth of the tested microorganisms including drug-resistant bacteria MRSA to some extent. Moreover, the target compound was found to be effective against prostatic carcinoma cell line (PC-3), breast carcinoma cell line (MCF-7), colon carcinoma (LoVo) and lung cancer (A549). Especially, it gave selective antitumor efficacy against prostatic carcinoma cell line (PC-3) at a low dose.

A series of novel 1,2,4-triazolium derivatives was synthesized starting from commercially available 1H-1,2,4-triazole, 2,4-dichlorobenzyl chloride, or 2,4-difluorobenzyl bromide. Their antibacterial and antifungal activities were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Bacillus proteus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans ATCC 76615, and Aspergillus fumigatus. All structures of the new compounds were confirmed by NMR, IR, and MS spectra, and elemental analyses. The antimicrobial tests showed that most of synthesized triazolium derivatives exhibit significant antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro. 1-(2,4-Difluorobenzyl)-4-dodecyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium bromide and 1-(2,4-Dichlorobenzyl)-4-dodecyl-1H-1,2,4- triazol-4-ium bromide were the most potent compounds against all tested strains with the MIC values ranging from 1.05 to 8.38 microM. They exhibited much stronger activities than the standard drugs chloramphenicol and fluconazole which are in clinical use. The results also showed that the antimicrobial activities of triazolium derivatives depend upon the type of substituent, the length of the alkyl chain, and the number of triazolium rings.

Supramolecular medicinal chemistry field has been a quite rapidly developing, increasingly active and newly rising interdiscipline which is the new expansion of supramolecular chemistry in pharmaceutical sciences, and is gradually becoming a relatively independent scientific area. Supramolecular drugs could be defined as medicinal supermolecules formed by two or more molecules through non-covalent bonds. So far a lot of supermolecules as chemical drugs have been widely used in clinics. Supermolecules as chemical drugs, i.e. supramolecular chemical drugs or supramolecular drugs, which might have the excellences of lower cost, shorter period, higher potential as clinical drugs for their successful research and development, may possess higher bioavailability, better biocompatibility and drug-targeting, fewer multidrug-resistances, lower toxicity, less adverse effect, and better curative effects as well as safety, and therefore exhibit wide potential application. These overwhelming advantages have drawn enormous special attention. This paper gives the definition of supramolecular drugs, proposes the concept of supramolecular chemical drugs, and systematically reviews the recent advances in the research and development of supermolecules, including organic and inorganic complex ones as chemical drugs in the area of antitumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, antivirus, anti-epileptic, cardiovascular agents and magnetic resonance imaging agents and so on. The perspectives of the foreseeable future and potential application of supramolecules as chemical drugs are also presented.

A novel series of quinolone imidazoles as new type of antimicrobial agents were synthesized. Most compounds exhibited good bioactivities especially against MRSA even superior to reference drugs. They induced bacterial resistance more slowly than clinical drugs and gave low cytotoxicity to human cells. The pKa values of these compounds showed appropriate ranges to pharmacokinetic behaviors. The interactions between compound 8b, Cu(2+) ion, and MRSA DNA revealed that compound 8b could intercalate into DNA through copper ion bridge to form a steady 8b-Cu(2+) -DNA ternary complex which might further block DNA replication to exert the powerful bioactivities. Study of compound 8b with human serum albumin indicated that compound 8b could be effectively stored and carried by human serum albumin.

The extensively clinical use of triazole-based medicinal drugs has been promoting increasing effort to develop new structural triazole derivatives. Benzotriazoles as fused aromatic nitrogen heterocycles of benzene ring with triazole exhibit wide potentialities in medicinal chemistry since some anticancer benzotriazole compounds like vorozole and 4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-1H-benzotriazole (TBB) were used in clinical therapy. The benzotriazole related investigations are becoming increasingly active. On the basis of authors’ researches and other literature in recent five years, this work for the first time gave a comprehensive review on the latest and outstanding developments of benzotriazole compounds in medicinal chemistry, including as anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, antitubercular, antiviral, antioxidative, antiparasitic, antioxidative agents and so on. Hopefully, this contribution will be helpful to develop benzotriazole-based drugs with high bioactivity and low toxicity.

Imidazole ring is an important five-membered aromatic heterocycle widely present in natural products and synthetic molecules. The unique structural feature of imidazole ring with desirable electron-rich characteristic is beneficial for imidazole derivatives to readily bind with a variety of enzymes and receptors in biological systems through diverse weak interactions, thereby exhibiting broad bioactivities. The related research and developments of imidazole-based medicinal chemistry have become a rapidly developing and increasingly active topic. Particularly, numerous imidazole-based compounds as clinical drugs have been extensively used in the clinic to treat various types of diseases with high therapeutic potency, which have shown the enormous development value. This work systematically gives a comprehensive review in current developments of imidazole-based compounds in the whole range of medicinal chemistry as anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, antitubercular, anti-inflammatory, antineuropathic, antihypertensive, antihistaminic, antiparasitic, antiobesity, antiviral, and other medicinal agents, together with their potential applications in diagnostics and pathology. It is hoped that this review will be helpful for new thoughts in the quest for rational designs of more active and less toxic imidazole-based medicinal drugs, as well as more effective diagnostic agents and pathologic probes.

A series of α-triazolyl chalcones were efficiently synthesized. Most of the prepared compounds showed effective antibacterial and antifungal activities. Noticeably, α-triazolyl derivative 9a exhibited low MIC value of 4 μg/mL against MRSA and Micrococcus luteus, which was comparable or even superior to reference drugs. The further research revealed that compound 9a could effectively intercalate into Calf Thymus DNA to form 9a–DNA complex which might block DNA replication to exert their powerful antimicrobial activities. Competitive interactions between 9a and metal ions to Human Serum Albumin (HSA) suggested the participation of Fe3+, K+ and Mg2+ ions in 9a–HSA system could increase the concentration of free 9a, shorten its storage time and half-life in the blood, thus improving its antimicrobial efficacy.

A series of novel hybrids of metronidazole and berberine as new type of antimicrobial agents were synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, IR, MS and HRMS spectra. Bioactive assay manifested that most of the prepared compounds exhibited effective antibacterial and antifungal activities and some showed comparable or superior potency against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to reference drugs Norfloxacin, Chloromycin and Berberine. The transportation behavior of human serum albumin (HSA) to the highly active compound 5g was evaluated and revealed that the association of imidazole derivative 5g with HSA was spontaneous and the electrostatic interactions played important roles in the transportation of HSA to 5g . The calculated parameters indicated that compound 5g could be effectively stored and carried by HSA.

A series of novel berberine triazoles were synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR, MS and HRMS spectra. All target compounds and their precursors were screened for antimicrobial activities in vitro against four Gram-positive bacteria, four Gram-negative bacteria and two fungal strains. Bioactive assay indicated that most of the prepared compounds exhibited good antibacterial and antifungal activities with low MIC values ranging from 2 to 64 μg/mL, which were comparable to or even better than the reference drugs Berberine, Chloromycin, Norfloxacin and Fluconazole. The competitive interactions between compound 5a and metal ions to Human Serum Albumin (HSA) revealed that the participation of Mg 2+ and Fe 3+ ions in compound 5a –HSA association could result in the concentration increase of free compound 5a , shorten the storage time and half-life of compound 5a in the blood, thus improving its antimicrobial efficacy.

A series of novel benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, IR and HRMS spectra. All the new compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities in vitro by two-fold serial dilution technique. Bioactive assay manifested that the bis-benzimidazole derivative 11d and its hydrochloride 13b exhibited remarkable antimicrobial activities, which were comparable or even better than the reference drugs Norfloxacin, Chloromycin and Fluconazole. The interaction evaluation of compound 11d with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by Fluorescence and UV–vis absorption spectroscopic method showed that BSA could generate fluorescent quenching under approximately human physiological conditions by the prepared benzimidazole compound 11d as result of the formation of ground-state compound 11d–BSA complex. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces played major roles in the strong association of benzimidazole 11d and BSA.

Correction for 'Design, synthesis, and antibacterial evaluation of novel azolylthioether quinolones as MRSA DNA intercalators' by Ling Zhang et al., Med. Chem. Commun., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c5md00186b.

In the title molecular salt, C2H4N3+·C7H5Cl2O3S−, C—C—S angle [112.25 (18)°] deviates slightly from that expected for ideal sp3-hybridization geometry. In the crystal, the components are linked by N—H...O and bifurcated N—H...(O,O) hydrogen bonds into chains parallel to [110].

A series of new coumarin-based benzotriazole derivatives were successfully synthesized via a multi-step sequence of cyclization, etherification and N-alkylation, and were confirmed by 1H NMR, IR, MS spectra as well as elemental analyses. All these synthesized coumarin compounds were evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activities against four Gram-positive bacteria, four Gram-negative bacteria and three fungi by two fold serial dilution technique. The bioactive assay showed that all these prepared coumarin benzotriazoles could inhibit the growth of the tested bacterial and fungal strains. Title compounds 11a-11e and 13a-13c were more active than chloromycin on Proteus vulgaris ATCC 6896. Coumarin benzotriazoles 11a and 11b displayed comparable antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Micrococcus luteus ATCC 4698 in comparison with reference drug chloromycin. Compared to fluconazole, compounds 11a-11d displayed stronger inhibition on Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC 96918. Moreover, coumarin-based benzotriazoles in combination with antibacterial chloromycin or antifungal fluconazole, showed notable antimicrobial efficacy with less dosage and broader antimicrobial spectrum. More importantly, fluconazole-insensitive A. fumigatus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus N 315 (MRSA) were sensitive to these combined drugs.

A series of novel 1,2,4-triazolium derivatives was synthesized starting from commercially available 1H-1,2,4-triazole, 2,4-dichlorobenzyl chloride, or 2,4-difluorobenzyl bromide. Their antibacterial and antifungal activities were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Bacillus proteus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans ATCC 76615, and Aspergillus fumigatus. All structures of the new compounds were confirmed by NMR, IR, and MS spectra, and elemental analyses. The antimicrobial tests showed that most of synthesized triazolium derivatives exhibit significant antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro. 1-(2,4-Difluorobenzyl)-4-dodecyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium bromide and 1-(2,4-Dichlorobenzyl)-4-dodecyl-1H-1,2,4- triazol-4-ium bromide were the most potent compounds against all tested strains with the MIC values ranging from 1.05 to 8.38 μM. They exhibited much stronger activities than the standard drugs chloramphenicol and fluconazole which are in clinical use. The results also showed that the antimicrobial activities of triazolium derivatives depend upon the type of substituent, the length of the alkyl chain, and the number of triazolium rings.

A series of berberine azoles was synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR, MS and HRMS spectroscopy. All the newly prepared compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities. Bioactivity assays manifested that most of the berberine azoles exhibited good antimicrobial activities. Especially compound 7a displayed remarkable anti-Proteus vulgaris and anti-Candida mycoderma efficacies, which were comparable to or even better than for the reference drugs. The binding behavior of compound 7a to human serum albumin (HSA) revealed that hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds play important roles in the association of compound 7a with HSA. Molecular docking experiments showed that compound 7a has moderate affinity to HSA, and the theoretical calculations were in accordance with the experimental results.

In the title molecule, C22H20N4O4S, both C=N bonds are in an E conformation. The benzene rings form dihedral angles of 12.10 (13) and 25.17 (12)° with the thiophene ring. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 17.59 (14)°. There are two intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, N—H...O hydrogen bonds connect molecules into chains along [010].

In the title compound, C16H22Cl4N2O2S, the two imide groups adopt a trans arrangement relative to the central thienyl ring, so the four terminal 2-chloroethyl arms adopt different orientations. In the crystal, molecules are linked by weak C—H...Cl and C—H...O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network.