Non-nucleoside HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors, Part 7. Synthesis, Antiviral Activity, and 3D-QSAR Investigations of Novel 6-(1-Naphthoyl) HEPT Analogues

A series of novel 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-6-(phenylthio)thymine (HEPT) analogues bearing a 6-(1-naphthoyl) group of non-nucleoside human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase inhibitors were synthesized and evaluated for their activity against HIV-1 and HIV-2. It was found that most of these compounds showed good activity against HIV-1. Among them, compound 5-isopropyl-6-(1-naphthoyl)-1-[(2E)-3-phenylallyl]-2,4-pyrimidinedione (23) displayed the greatest inhibitory potency (IC50=0.14 μM), which is about 35-fold more active than HEPT and DDI. To rationalize the relationships between structure and activity of these novel compounds, a three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) model was also generated. The results provided a tool for guiding the further design of more potent antiviral agents and for predicting the affinity of related compounds.