Siderophores are chelators synthesized by bacteria and fungi to sequester iron, which is essential for virulence and pathogenicity. Since the process involves active transport, which is highly regulated, remarkably efficient and often microbially selective, it has been exploited as a Trojan Horse method for development of microbe-selective antibiotics. Siderophores also have significant potential for the development of imaging contrast agents and diagnostics for pathogen-selective detection. These promising results demonstrate the versatility of natural and synthetic microbial iron chelators and their potential therapeutic applications.

Three siderophore-drug conjugates (sideromycins) were synthesized by preparation of a maleimide linked derivative of the siderophore desferrioxamine B and reacting the corresponding Ga3+-complex with freshly prepared thiol-containing antibiotics: loracarbef, ciprofloxacin and nadifloxacin. The conjugates and their synthetic precursors were tested against a broad panel of bacteria and were found to display Gram-positive selective, growth inhibitory activity (µM) indicating that this approach is suitable for the convergent synthesis and screening of novel sideromycins.

Three analogs of mycobactin T, the siderophore secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) were synthesized and screened for their antibiotic activity against Mtb H37Rv and a broad panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The synthetic mycobactins were potent (MIC90 0.02–0.88 μM in 7H12 media) and selective Mtb inhibitors, with no inhibitory activity observed against any other of the microorganisms tested. The maleimide-containing analog 40 represents a versatile platform for the development of mycobactin-drug conjugates, as well as other applications.

No abstract