δ-Carbolines and their ring-opened analogs: Synthesis and evaluation against fungal and bacterial opportunistic pathogens

Previous studies have indicated that the delta-carboline (2) ring system derived from the natural product cryptolepine (1) may represent a pharmacophore for anti-infective activity. This paper describes the design and synthesis of a small library of substituted delta-carbolines and the evaluation of the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial activities. An evaluation of the anti-bacterial activity of a previously reported library of ring-opened analogs was also conducted to provide an opportunity to test the hypothesis that both group of compounds may have the same biological target. Results indicate that against a selected group of fungal pathogens, substituted delta-carbolinium analogs displayed higher potency and several fold lower cytotoxicity than cryptolepine the parent natural product. Both the delta-carbolinium compounds and their ring-opened analogs, exhibited equally high anti-bacterial activity against the selected pathogens and especially against the gram positive bacteria evaluated. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.