Discovery of Novel Orally Bioavailable Triazoles with Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Activity In Vitro and In Vivo

In our continuing efforts to discover novel triazoles with improved antifungal activity in vitro and in vivo, a series of 41 novel compounds containing 1,2,3-triazole side chains were designed and synthesized via a click reaction based on our previous work. Most of the compounds showed moderate to excellent broad-spectrum antifungal activity in vitro. Among them, the most promising compound 9A16 displayed excellent antifungal and anti-drug-resistant fungal ability (MIC80 = 0.0156–8 μg/mL). In addition, compound 9A16 showed powerful in vivo efficacy on mice systematically infected with Candida albicans SC5314, Cryptococcus neoformans H99, fluconazole-resistant C. albicans 100, and Aspergillus fumigatus 7544. Moreover, compared to fluconazole, compound 9A16 showed better in vitro anti-biofilm activity and was more difficult to induce drug resistance in a 1 month induction of resistance assay in C. albicans. With favorable pharmacokinetics, an acceptable safety profile, and high potency in vitro and in vivo, compound 9A16 is currently under preclinical investigation.