In Silico and In Vitro Assessment of Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of Some 1,3-Oxazole-Based Compounds and Their Isosteric Analogues

In this paper, we report on the antimicrobial activity assessment of 49 compounds previously synthesized as derivatives of alanine or phenylalanine that incorporate a 4-(4-X-phenylsulfonyl)phenyl fragment (X = H, Cl, or Br), namely 21 acyclic compounds (6 x N-acyl-alpha-amino acids, 1 x N-acylct-amino acid ester, and 14 x N-acyl-alpha-amino ketones) and 28 pentatomic heterocycles from the oxazole-based compound class (6 x 4H-1,3-oxazol-5-ones, 16 x 5-aryl-1,3-oxazoles, and 6 x ethyl 1,3-oxazol-5-yl carbonates). Both in silico and in vitro qualitative and quantitative assays were used to investigate the antimicrobial potential of these derivatives against planktonic and biofilm-embedded microbial strains. Some of the tested compounds showed promising antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity depending on their chemical scaffold and lipophilic character.

Automated summary

In this study, the antimicrobial activity of 49 compounds derived from alanine or phenylalanine was evaluated. These compounds showed promising antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity depending on their chemical scaffold and lipophilic character, as determined through in silico and in vitro assays.