Synthesis, antibacterial and cytotoxic activity evaluation of hydroxyurea derivatives

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a series (N = 16) of cyclic and acyclic hydroxyurea derivatives, including benzotriazole-, isocyanuric acid- and biuret-containing compounds, are disclosed. 1-N-(benzyloxycarbamoyl)benzotriazole was used as a benzyloxyisocyanate donor, a useful intermediate in the preparation of substituted hydroxyurea. Antibacterial activities of synthesized hydroxyurea derivatives were tested on three E. coli strains, i.e., a strain susceptible to antibiotics, a strain resistant to macrolide antibiotics and a strain resistant to aminoglycoside antibiotics. Six compounds (three acyclic and three cyclic hydroxyureas) showed growth inhibition of the tested E. coli strains, with different specificity toward each strain. Results of the cytotoxic activity evaluation revealed that twelve out of sixteen test compounds were cytotoxic to human acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 and/or human acute T cell leukemia Jurkat cell line. 1-(N-hydroxycarbamoyl)benzotriazole (5) increased the metabolic activity of both cell lines. Two compounds, 1-(N-hydroxycarbamoyl)benzotriazole (5) and N,N',N ''-trihydroxybiuret (15), were identified as potential NO donors.