Antifungal activity and mechanism of action of 2-chloro-N -phenylacetamide: a new molecule with activity against strains of Aspergillus flavus.

Aspergillus genus causes many diseases, and the species Aspergillus flavus is highly virulent. Treatment of aspergillosis involves azole derivatives such as voriconazole and polyenes such as amphotericin B. Due to an increase in fungal resistance, treatments are now less effective; the search for new compounds with promising antifungal activity has gained importance. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of the synthetic amide 2-chloro-N-phenylacetamide (A1Cl) against strains of Aspergillus flavus and to elucidate its mechanism of action. Thus, the minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum fungicidal concentration, conidial germination, associations with antifungal agents, cell wall activities, membrane activities and molecular docking were evaluated. A1Cl presented antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus strains with a minimum inhibitory concentration of between 16 and 256 μg/mL and a minimum fungicidal concentration between 32 and 512 μg/mL. The minimum inhibitory concentration of A1Cl also inhibited conidial germination, but when associated with amphotericin B and voriconazole, it promoted antagonistic effects. Binding to ergosterol on the fungal plasma membrane is the likely mechanism of action, along with possible inhibition of DNA synthesis through the inhibition of thymidylate synthase. It is concluded that the amide 2-chloro-N-phenylacetamide has promising antifungal potential.