Synthesis and antibiotic potential of myxocoumarin-inspired chromene dione analogs

MYX-030, which exhibit exceptional antibiotic activities against several Gram-positive pathogens, including MRSA. Interestingly, the synthetic chromene dione precursors lacking the alkyl side chain also display promising antibiotic potential. Within this work, a focused library of chromene diones resembling the myxocoumarin A core structure was synthesized to explore structure-activity relationships. We were able to identify derivatives equipotent to the natural product but devoid of the alkyl chain and the nitro substituent to significantly facilitate synthetic access.