Pulvinones as bacterial cell wall biosynthesis inhibitors
Pulvinones were synthesized (>180) in arrays and evaluated as inhibitors of early stage cell wall biosynthesis enzymes MurA-MurD. Several pulvinones inhibited Mur enzymes with IC50's in the 1-10 μg/mL range and demonstrated antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.