Design, synthesis, and biological activity evaluation of a series of pleuromutilin derivatives with novel C14 side chains

In this work, according to the 'me-too me-better' design strategy, a peculiar side chain different from lefamulin at C14 position of pleuromutilin was introduced. A series of novel thioether pleuromutilin derivatives containing cyclohexane in the C14 chain was synthesized by ten-step synthesis reaction. All derivatives were characterized by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and High Resolution Mass Spectrometer (HRMS). Furthermore, majority of derivatives displayed moderate antibacterial activity in vitro. However, the compound 2C and 2J exhibited comparable or superior antibacterial activity to lefamulin. The summarized structure-activity relationship not only made the variety of pleuromutilin derivatives more diverse, but also provided new ideas for its design and development.