Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of urea derivatives from o-hydroxybenzylamines and phenylisocyanate as potential FabH inhibitors

FabH, β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase III, is a particularly attractive target, since it is central to the initiation of fatty acid biosynthesis and is highly conserved among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A series of o-hydroxybenzylamines 1-16 and its corresponding new urea derivatives 17-32 were synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis. This new urea derivatives class demonstrates strong antibacterial activity. Escherichia coli FabH inhibitory assay and docking simulation indicated that the compounds 1-(5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzyl)-1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-phenylurea (18) and 1-(5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-phenylurea (20) were potent inhibitors of E. coli FabH.