Antitubercular Nitroimidazoles Revisited: Synthesis and Activity of the Authentic 3-Nitro Isomer of Pretomanid

Abstract

A published study of structural features associated with the aerobic and anaerobic activities of 4- and 5-nitroimidazoles had found that the 3-nitro isomer of pretomanid, 8, displayed interesting potencies, including against nitroreductase-mutant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, recent NMR analyses of two trace byproducts, isolated from early process op-timization studies toward a large-scale synthesis of pretomanid, raised structural assignment queries, particularly for 8, stimulating further investigation. Following our discovery that the reported compound was a 6-nitroimidazooxazole derivative, we developed a de novo synthesis of authentic 8 via nitration of the chiral des-nitro imidazooxazine alcohol 26 in trifluoroacetic or acetic anhydride, and verified its identity through an X ray crystal structure. Unfortunately, 8 displayed no antitubercular activity (MICs >128 µM), whereas the second byproduct (3’-methyl pretomanid) was 8-fold more potent than pretomanid in the aerobic assay. These findings further clarify target specificities for bicyclic nitroimidazoles, which may become important in the event of any future clinical resistance.