Identification and initial optimization of inhibitors of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxin B (TcdB)

The discovery, synthesis and preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a novel class of inhibitors of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxin B (TcdB) is described. A high throughput screening (HTS) campaign resulted in the identification of moderately active screening hits 1-5 the most potent of which was compound 1 (IC₅₀ = 0.77 µM). In silico docking of an early analog offered suggestions for structural modification which resulted in the design and synthesis of highly potent analogs 13j(IC₅₀ = 1 nM) and 13 l(IC₅₀ = 7 nM) which were chosen as leads for further optimization.