Azoles are a promising class of the new generation of HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). From thousands of reported compounds, many possess the same basic structure of an aryl substituted azole ring linked by a thioglycolamide chain with another aromatic ring. In order to find novel extensions for this basic scaffold, we explored the 5-position substitution pattern of triazole NNRTIs using molecular docking followed by the synthesis of selected compounds. We found that heterocyclic substituents in the 5-position of the triazole ring are detrimental to the inhibitory activity of compounds with four-membered thioglycolamide linker and this substitution seems to be viable only for compounds with shorter two-membered linker. Promising compound, N-(4-carboxy-2-chlorophenyl)-2-((4-benzyl-5-methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)sulfanyl)acetamide, with potent inhibitory activity and acceptable aqueous solubility has been identified in this study that could serve as lead scaffold for the development of novel water-soluble salts of triazole NNRTIs.
Keywords: Azoles; HAART; HIV reverse transcriptase; NNRTIs; triazoles.