Fluorocyclopropyl quinolones. 1. Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of 1-(2-fluorocyclopropyl)-3-pyridonecarboxylic acid antibacterial agents.

A series of 1-(2-fluorocyclopropyl)-3-pyridonecarboxylic acids has been prepared. These derivatives are characterized by having a fluorine atom at the 2-position on the cyclopropane ring as the N1 substituent and consist of both cis and trans stereoisomers. Structure-activity relationship studies indicate that the cis derivatives are more potent against Gram-positive bacteria than the corresponding trans counterparts, but the difference in potency against most Gram-negative bacteria is much smaller. The inhibitory effect of compounds 4, 5, 26, 27, 38, and 39 on supercoiling activity of DNA gyrase obtained from E. coli KL-16 correlated with their MICs against the same strain and also depend on their (26, 27, 38, 39) stereochemistry. Introduction of a fluorine atom on the cyclopropyl group resulted in the reduction of lipophilicity compared with the corresponding nonfluorinated quinolones.