[reaction: see text] A practical and efficient synthesis of aryl triflates under biphasic basic aqueous conditions is described. The current methodology provides entry into these valuable substrates that omits the use of amine bases and allows facile isolation by simple solvent evaporation after phase separation. Good yields can also be obtained without the use of organic solvent.

The concise synthesis of a potent thrombin inhibitor was accomplished by a mild lactone aminolysis between an orthogonally protected bis-benzylic amine and a diastereomerically pure lactone. The lactone was synthesized by the condensation of l-proline methyl ester with an enantiomerically pure hydroxy acid, which in turn was synthesized by a highly stereoselective (>500:1 er) and productive (100,000:1, S/C) enzymatic reduction of an alpha-ketoester. In addition, a second route to the enantiomerically pure lactone was accomplished by a diastereoselective ketoamide reduction.

Lethal systemic fungal infections of Candida species are increasingly common, especially in immune compromised patients. By in vitro screening of small molecule mimics of naturally occurring host defense peptides (HDP), we have identified several active antifungal molecules, which also exhibited potent activity in two mouse models of oral candidiasis. Here we show that one such compound, C4, exhibits a mechanism of action that is similar to the parent HDP upon which it was designed. Specifically, its initial interaction with the anionic microbial membrane is electrostatic, as its fungicidal activity is inhibited by cations. We observed rapid membrane permeabilization to propidium iodide and ATP efflux in response to C4. Unlike the antifungal peptide histatin 5, it did not require energy-dependent transport across the membrane. Rapid membrane disruption was observed by both fluorescence and electron microscopy. The compound was highly active in vitro against numerous fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates of C. albicans and non-albicans species, and it exhibited potent, dose-dependent activity in a mouse model of invasive candidiasis, reducing kidney burden by three logs after 24 hours, and preventing mortality for up to 17 days. Together the results support the development of this class of antifungal drug to treat invasive candidiasis.

Invasive candidiasis caused by Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida (NAC) present a serious disease threat. Although the echinocandins are recommended as the first line of antifungal drug class, resistance to these agents is beginning to emerge, demonstrating the need for new antifungal agents. Host defense peptides (HDP) exhibit potent antifungal activity, but as drugs they are difficult to manufacture efficiently, and they are often inactivated by serum proteins. HDP mimetics are low molecular weight non-peptide compounds that can alleviate these problems and were shown to be membrane-active against C. albicans and NAC. Here, we expand upon our previous works to describe the in vitro and in vivo activity of 11 new HDP mimetics that are active against C. albicans and NAC that are both sensitive and resistant to standard antifungal drugs. These compounds exhibit minimum inhibitory/fungicidal concentration (MIC/MFC) in the µg/mL range in the presence of serum and are inhibited by divalent cations. Rapid propidium iodide influx into the yeast cells following in vitro exposure suggested that these HDP mimetics were also membrane active. The lead compounds were able to kill C. albicans in an invasive candidiasis CD-1 mouse model with some mimetic candidates decreasing kidney burden by 3–4 logs after 24 h in a dose-dependent manner. The data encouraged further development of this new anti-fungal drug class for invasive candidiasis.

No abstract