Design, synthesis and biological activity evaluation of novel 2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives through FtsZ inhibition.

Novel series of 3-substituted 2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives as FtsZ inhibitors were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against various phenotype of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and their cell division inhibitory activity against three representative strains. As a result, 3-chloroalkoxy derivative 7, 3-bromoalkoxy derivative 12 and 3-alkyloxy derivative 17 were found to exhibit the best antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis with MICs of 0.25-1μg/mL, and good activity (MIC<10μg/mL) against both susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, all the three compounds displayed potent cell division inhibitory activity with MIC values of below 1μg/mL against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.