Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of l-amino alcohol derivatives as broad-spectrum antifungal agents.

To discover broad spectrum antifungal agents, two strategies were applied, and a novel class of l-amino alcohol derivatives were designed and synthesized. 3-F substituted compounds 14i, 14n, 14s and 14v exhibited excellent antifungal activities with broad antifungal spectra against C. albicans and C. tropicalis, with MIC values in the range of 0.03-0.06 μg/mL, and against A. fumigatus and C. neoformans, with MIC values in the range of 1-2 μg/mL. Notably, Compounds 14i, 14n, 14s and 14v also displayed moderate activities against fluconazole-resistance strains 17# and CaR that were isolated from AIDS patients. Moreover, only compounds in the S-configuration showed antifungal activity. Preliminary mechanistic studies showed that the potent antifungal activity of compound 14v stemmed from inhibition of C. albicans CYP51. Compounds 14n and 14v were almost nontoxic to mammalian A549 cells, and their stability in human plasma was excellent.