New Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives of Fluoroquinolones: Synthesis and Evaluation of Antibacterial and Anticancer Properties

A series of new hydroxamic acid derivatives (6a–f) at C-3 position of fluoroquinolones were designed and synthesized through multistep synthesis. The design concept involved replacement of the 3-carboxylic acid in fluoquinolones with hydroxamic acid as an acid mimicking group. The synthetic work employed in this work provides a good example for the synthesis of pure hydroxamic acid based fluoroquinolones. The synthesized compounds were characterized by 1H-NMR, electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS and IR. The new compounds were tested for their in vitro antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activity. Out of the six derivatives, compound 6e exhibited moderate antibacterial activity by inhibiting the growth of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (MIC: 4.00–8.00 µg/mL). Compounds 6b and 6f displayed good growth inhibition against A549 Lung adenocarcinoma and HCT-116 Colon carcinoma cell lines.