The anti-Acinetobacter baumannii therapeutic potential of azole hybrids: A mini-review

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the major causes of severe hospital- and community-acquired infections, posing a significant threat to human lives. A. baumannii has already generated resistance to almost all of the currently available antibiotics, but no new class of antibacterials have been launched for the treatment of infections caused by A. baumannii in the last half century, creating an urgent need to develop novel antibacterials. Azoles as a broad class of five-membered nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocycles are privileged pharmacophores widely found in pharmaceuticals. Azoles could target on diverse enzymes, proteins, and receptors in A. baumannii via various noncovalent interactions. Particularly, azole hybrids have potential advantages in increasing therapeutic efficacy and circumventing drug resistance, representing useful scaffolds for the discovery of novel anti-A. baumannii agents. This review outlines the current scenario of the antibacterial therapeutic potential of azole hybrids against A. baumannii, developed from 2020 onwards, aiming to provide potential candidates for further preclinical/clinical evaluations and facilitate the rational design of more effective candidates.