Antiparasitic activity of 1,3-dioxolanes containing tellurium in Trichomonas vaginalis

The increased prevalence of metronidazole-resistant infections has resulted in a search for alternative drugs for the treatment of trichomoniasis. In the present study, we report the preparation and in vitro activity of three 1,3-dioxolanes that contain tellurium (PTeDOX 01, PTeDOX 02, and PTeDOX 03) against Trichomonas vaginalis. Six concentrations of these compounds were analyzed for in vitro activity against ATCC 30236 isolate of T. vaginalis. PTeDOX 01 reported a cytotoxic effect against 100% of T. vaginalis trophozoites at a final concentration of 90 mu M with an IC50 of 60 mM. The kinetic growth curve of trophozoites indicated that PTeDOX 01 reduced the growth by 22% at a concentration of 90 mM after an exposure of 12 h, and induced complete parasite death at 24 h. It induced cytotoxicity of 44% at 90 mM concentration but and had no effect in lower concentrations in a culture of CHO-K1 cells. These results confirmed that PTeDOX 01 is an important drug for the treatment of T. vaginalis, and should be evaluated in other infectious agents as well. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.