Design and synthesis of novel antibacterial agents that targets the bacterial fatty acid pathway

Antibacterial resistance is a global threat that is rapidly overtaking every known drug which has been designed for curbing its spread rendering them ineffective. This emphasizes the urgent need for the development of novel agents with unique targets that would show no resistance when employed against bacterial pathogens, using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as test bacterial strains. The FAS II pathway has now become a prime candidate for developing significant and novel antibacterials as Platensimycin, a newly discovered inhibitor of the pathway further validates it. Three compounds were synthesized from carboxylic acids derivatives known as Acyl chlorides whose –OH group has been replaced by a chlorine atom and whose general formula is represented as RCO-Cl and a primary amine having one alkyl group on the nitrogen atom giving rise to its formula as RNH2 and were subjected to spectroscopic analysis to confirm their chemical structure using NMR, TLC and LC-MS instruments. Biological assays involving the potency test of this synthesized compounds against bacteria confirmed any antibacterial activity as all three novel compounds showed inhibition activity even at the lowest concentration tested. The methyl CH3 groups as well as the various benzene substituted rings of the compounds showed to be contributors to their inhibition activity. Recrystallization of this novel compounds is recommended in the future as a means of purifying it as well as the application of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay to ensure that this antibacterial agents are selected effectively to improve treatment outcomes.