NovelN-4-Piperazinyl Ciprofloxacin-Ester Hybrids: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Docking Studies

A series of novelN-4-piperazinyl ciprofloxacin-ester hybrids has been synthesized and the structures confirmed by(1)H and(13)C NMR, FT-IR spectral data, and elemental analysis. The products have been testedin vitrofor their antibacterial activity against six bacterial strains (MRSA,Staphylococcus epidermidis,Bacillus subtilis,Escherichia coli,Salmonella enterica, andKlebsiella pneumoniae) and have demonstrated good antibacterial activity with MIC values range 6.25-200 mu g/mL. Antifungal and cytotoxic activities of the products have been tested againstCandida kefyrand human leukemia K562 cell line, respectively. All compounds inhibit growth of K562 cells more efficiently than the parent ciprofoxacin in a dose- and duration-dependent way. Molecular docking studies performed for the compound3iindicates that similarly to ciprofloxacin it can act as an inhibitor ofS. aureusDNA gyrase.