Synthesis of Antiviral Perfluoroalkyl Derivatives of Teicoplanin and Vancomycin

The limited scope of antiviral drugs and increasing problem of antiviral drug resistance represent a global health threat. Glycopeptide antibiotics and their lipophilic derivatives have emerged as relevant inhibitors of diverse viruses. Herein, we describe a new strategy for the synthesis of dual hydrophobic and lipophobic derivatives of glycopeptides to produce selective antiviral agents without membrane-disrupting activity. Perfluorobutyl and perfluorooctyl moieties were attached through linkers of different length to azido derivatives of vancomycin aglycone and teicoplanin pseudoaglycone, and the new derivatives were evaluated against a diverse panel of viruses. The teicoplanin derivatives displayed strong anti-influenza virus activity at nontoxic concentrations. Some of the perfluoroalkylated glycopeptides were also active against a few other viruses such as herpes simplex virus or coronavirus. These data encourage further exploration of glycopeptide analogues for broad antiviral application.