Synthesis and antibacterial activity of new N-[2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethyl] piperazinyl quinolones

As a part of continuing search for potential antibacterial agents in the quinolones field, we have synthesized novel quinolone agents bearing N-[2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethyl] piperazinyl moiety in the 7-position of the quinolone ring. In vitro antibacterial evaluation of the target compounds showed that N-[2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethyl] group attached to piperazine ring served as promising C-7 substituent for piperazinyl quinolone antibacterials. Among these derivatives, ciprofloxacin analogues, containing N-[2-(thiophen-3-yl)-2-hydroxyiminoethyl] or N-[2-(thiophen-3-yl)-2-methoxyiminoethyl] residue provided a high inhibition against all the tested Gram-positive organisms including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus comparable or superior with respect to the reference drugs norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin.