Non-hydrolysable analogues of inorganic pyrophosphate as inhibitors of hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase

Inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) is the product of the polymerization reaction catalyzed by DNA- and RNA-polymerases. A number of novel non-hydrolsable PPi analogues was synthesized; some of them inhibited the polymerization reaction catalyzed by hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (NS5B). A new pharmacophore based on a non-hydrolysable methylenediphosphonate backbone has been developed. The structure-activity relationship analysis of 12 bisphosphonates is presented and the structural features crucial for NS5B polymerase activity inhibition are stated.