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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Activity Prediction, and Molecular Dynamics of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Published on: May 9, 2025
Sulfonated naphthyl porphyrins as agents against HIV-1
Dabney W Dixon1, Anila F Gill, Lingamallu Giribabu
1Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Box 4098, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. ddixon@gsu.edu
Abstract:
Sulfonated 5,10,15,20-tetra(1-naphthyl)porphyrin (T1NapS) and 5,10,15,20-tetra(2-naphthyl)porphyrin (T2NapS) and their copper and iron chelates show activity against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). The porphyrins were prepared by sulfonation of the parent structures with sulfuric acid. More highly sulfonated structures were prepared by sulfonation for longer times. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry showed species with as many as eight sulfonates. Some of the mass spectral peaks for the copper chelates were consistent with loss of water, apparently from intramolecular sulfone formation between two adjacent naphthalene rings that took place during copper insertion. The compounds could be separated using capillary electrophoresis; addition of beta- or gamma-cyclodextrin gave substantially better separation of the components. Activity against HIV was evaluated using an epithelial HeLa-CD4-CCR5 cell line; EC50 values for HIV-1 IIIB and HIV-1 JR-FL ranged from 1 to 15 microg/ml. The compounds exhibit low toxicity for human epithelial cells and have potential as microbicides which might be used to provide protection against sexual transmission of HIV.
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