Synthesis, molecular modeling and biological evaluation of β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase III (FabH) as novel antibacterial agents.

A series of novel cinnamic acid secnidazole ester derivatives have been designed and synthesized, and their biological activities were also evaluated as potential inhibitors of FabH. These compounds were assayed for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Compounds with potent antibacterial activities were tested for their E. coli FabH inhibitory activity. Compound 3n showed the most potent antibacterial activity with MIC of 1.56-6.25 μg/mL against the tested bacterial strains and exhibited the most potent E. coli FabH inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ of 2.5 μM. Docking simulation was performed to position compound 3n into the E. coli FabH active site to determine the probable binding conformation.