N-substituted 2-isocyanoarylacetamides with antimicrobial activity

In this study, N-substituted 2-formylaminoarylacetamides (3) were obtained by the Ugi four-component reaction between isocyanides (1), aldehydes (2), and ammonium formate. The reaction products (3) were dehydrated with POCl3/NEt3 to give the title compounds (4). The structure of the compounds 3 and 4 was confirmed by spectral data and elemental analysis. Tests of antimicrobial activity showed that compounds 4 were ineffective against E. coli and fairly active against K. pneumoniae and S. aureus. A better activity was shown against B. subtilis, but all the tested compounds showed a very good inhibitory effect against C. albicans.