This communication describes the design and characterization of a new peptide motif that is a hybrid of beta-hairpin and beta-helical structures. This motif was supported by CD and IR spectrocopies in nonpolar organic solvents and was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and structure calculations using NMR-derived restraints. The beta-hairpin/beta-helical motif represents a potentially attractive new structural template for a variety of possible applications in biomolecular design, such as ligands for macromolecular targets and building blocks for new protein architectures.

There is a dire need for new classes of antimicrobial compounds to combat the growing threat of widespread antibiotic resistance. With a currently very scarce drug pipeline, consisting mostly of derivatives of known antibiotics, new classes of antibiotics are urgently required. Antibiotic compounds are notorious for not having very “drug-like” chemical structures. Metal complexes are currently in clinical development for the treatment of cancer, malaria and neurodegenerative diseases. However, only little attention has been paid to their application as potential antimicrobial compounds. We report the evaluation of 906 metal-containing compounds that have been screened by the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD) for antimicrobial activity. Metal-bearing compounds display a significantly higher hit-rate (9.9%) when compared to the purely organic molecules (0.87%) in the CO-ADD database. Out of 906 compounds, 88 show activity against at least one of the tested strains, including fungi, while not displaying any cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines or haemolytic properties. Herein, we highlight the structures of the 30 compounds with activity against Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria containing Mn, Co, Zn, Ru, Ag, Eu, Ir and Pt, with activities down to the nanomolar range against methicillin resistant <i>S. aureus </i>(MRSA). This work reveals the vast diversity that metal-containing compounds can bring to antimicrobial research. It is important to raise awareness of these types of compounds for the design of truly novel antibiotics with potential for combatting antimicrobial resistance.

An expedited synthesis of endo-hydroxamic acid aminocarboxylic acid (endo-HXA) compounds has been developed. These monomeric ligands are relevant to the synthesis of metal-macrocycle complexes using metal-templated synthesis (MTS), and the downstream production of apomacrocycles. Macrocycles can display useful drug properties and be used as ligands for radiometals in medical imaging applications, which supports methodological advances in accessing this class of molecule. Six endo-HXA ligands were prepared that contained methylene groups, ether atoms, or thioether atoms in different regions of the monomer (1-6). MTS using a 1:2 Fe(III)/ligand ratio furnished six dimeric hydroxamic acid macrocycles complexed with Fe(III) (1a-6a). The corresponding apomacrocycles (1b-6b) were produced upon treatment with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). Constitutional isomers of the apomacrocycles that contained one ether oxygen atom in the diamine-containing (2b) or dicarboxylic acid-containing (3b) region were well resolved by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Density functional theory calculations were used to compute the structures and solvated molecular properties of 1b-6b and showed that the orientation of the amide bonds relative to the pseudo-C2 axis was close to parallel in 1b, 2b, and 4b-6b but tended toward perpendicular in 3b. This conformational constraint in 3b reduced the polarity compared with 2b, consistent with the experimental trend in polarity observed using RP-HPLC. The improved synthesis of endo-HXA ligands allows expanded structural diversity in MTS-derived macrocycles and the ability to modulate macrocycle properties.

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