In vitro bactericidal activity of 4- and 5-chloro-2-hydroxy-N-[1-oxo-1-(phenylamino)alkan-2-yl]benzamides against MRSA.

A series of nine substituted 2-hydroxy-N-[1-oxo-1-(phenylamino)alkan-2-yl]benzamides was assessed as prospective bactericidal agents against three clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and S. aureus ATCC 29213 as the reference and quality control strain. The minimum bactericidal concentration was determined by subculturing aliquots from MIC determination onto substance-free agar plates. The bactericidal kinetics of compounds 5-chloro-2-hydroxy-N-[(2S)-3-methyl-1-oxo-1-{[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]amino}butan-2-yl]benzamide (1f), N-{(2S)-1-[(4-bromophenyl)amino]-3-methyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl}-4-chloro-2-hydroxybenzamide (1g), and 4-chloro-N-{(2S)-1-[(3,4-dichlorophenyl)amino]-3-methyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl}-2-hydroxybenzamide (1h) was established by time-kill assay with a final concentration of the compound equal to 1x, 2x, and 4x MIC; aliquots were removed at 0, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h time points. The most potent bactericidal agent was compound 1f exhibiting remarkable rapid concentration-dependent bactericidal effect even at 2x MIC at 4, 6, and 8 h (with a reduction in bacterial count ranging from 3.08 to 3.75 log10 CFU/mL) and at 4x MIC at 4, 6, 8, and 24 h (5.30 log10 CFU/mL reduction in bacterial count) after incubation against MRSA 63718. Reliable bactericidal effect against other strains was maintained at 4x MIC at 24 h.