A number of new optically active 1-oxacephem compounds were synthesized and tested for antibacterial activity. Various 7a-unsubstituted 1-oxacephem nuclei 2a-e and a 7a-methoxy-1-oxacephem nucleus 3, reported previously, were converted into the corresponding phenylacetylamino-, 2-thienylacetylamino-, n-mandelylamino-, D-phenylglycylamino-, and arylmalonylamino-l-oxacephem carboxylic acids. All the compounds except for the phenylglycylamino derivatives exhibited four-to sixteen-fold enhanced antibacterial activity compared with that of the corresponding cephalosporins.A combination of the 7a-methoxy-3-(1-methyl-lH-tetrazol-5-yl)thiomethyl-l-oxacephem nucleus and a 7~-arylmalonylamino side chain, as represented by compound 1 (disodium salt of 33), produced the highest efficacy among them: high antibacterial activity with a widely expanded spectrum against Gram-negative bacteria including resistant strains and Pseudonronas aeruginosa was observed.Recently, increasing efforts to obtain better i9-lactam antibiotics have been focused on the synthesis of cephalosporin nuclear analogues in which the sulfur atom is replaced by either another atom or a group of atoms. CHRISTENSEN and co-workers first reported preparation of racemic 1-oxacephalothin1) and 1-oxacefamandole2) as well as some 1-carbacephems2,3) exhibiting significant antibacterial activity.WOLFE et al. reported4) the synthesis of an optically active 3-methyl 1-oxacephem ester but did not comment on the antibacterial activity of the compound. The synthesis of optically active 3-methyl 1-oxacephems exhibiting antibacterial activity was first carried out by BRANCH and PEARSON.5,6) In previous papers, we have reported the synthesis of optically active 3-methyl 1-oxacephems,7)which exhibit four-to eight-fold higher antibacterial activity than that of the corresponding cephalosporins, as well as the synthesis8~10) and structure-activity relationships8~11) of some 3-substituted-methyl 1-oxacephems including 7a-methoxy derivatives. Since then, several improved synthetic routes to 1-oxacephem nuclei have been reported from our laboratories,12~18) while other research groups have also reported on syntheses19~23) and the antibacterial activity21) of 1-oxacephem derivatives.In the present paper, we report in detail on chemical modifications at the C-73 position in 1-oxacephems as well as a novel method for introducing an arylmalonyl group into a 7a-methoxy 1-oxacephem nucleus. Investigation of the effect of C-3, C-7a, and C-7(3 groups upon the in vitro antibacterial activity of the resulting 1-oxacephems including latamoxef (1, moxalactam, 6059-S, LY127935), is also discussed.
ChemistrySeveral series of 7j3-acylamino-l-oxacephems were prepared from the previously reported 7a-unsubstituted i-oxacephem nuclei 2a,7) 2b-e8) (Table 1) and the 7a-methoxy-l-oxacephem nucleus 38)