Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of novel triphenylphosphonium‐functionalized substituted pyrimidines

Abstract

The increase in the prevalence of antibiotic‐resistant pathogens leads to a decrease in the number of antimicrobial agents for the treatment of infections and prompts researchers to search for new effective antimicrobial drugs. This study reports the synthesis of novel triphenylphosphonium‐functionalized substituted pyrimidines and in vitro evaluation of their antibacterial and antibiofilm activity. Most of the synthesized derivatives showed high antibacterial activity (MIC = 0.39–1.56 μg/mL) against the methicillin‐resistant strain of S. aureus 222. Compounds 2a and 11 exhibited a high level of antibiofilm activity against S. aureus 222 and E. coli 311. The triphenylphosphonium‐containing pyrimidines 11 and 2a reduced S. aureus 222 biofilm formation by 99.1% and 95.8%, respectively. In addition, compound 2a was the most active against E. coli 311 biofilm formation (the biomass decreased by 98.4%).