Spiroadamantyl 1,2,4-trioxolane, 1,2,4-trioxane, and 1,2,4-trioxepane pairs: Relationship between peroxide bond iron(II) reactivity, heme alkylation efficiency, and antimalarial activity

These data suggest that iron(II) reactivity for a set of homologous spiroadamantyl 1,2,4-trioxolane, 1,2,4-trioxane, and 1,2,4-trioxepane peroxide heterocycles is a necessary, but insufficient, property of animalarial peroxides. Heme alkylation efficiency appears to give a more accurate prediction of antimalarial activity than FeSO4-mediated reaction rates, suggesting that antimalarial activity is not merely dependent on peroxide bond cleavage, but also on the ability of reactive intermediates to alkylate heme or other proximal targets.

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