One-pot synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of novel 3-cyanopyridine derivatives of (−)-β-pinene

A series of novel 3-cyanopyridine derivatives of (−)-β-pinene were designed and synthesized by one-pot four-component domino reactions. The targeted compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against four bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis) and a fungus (Candida albicans). The results showed that most of the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of these 3-cyanopyridine derivatives against the tested strains was in the range of 15.6–125 mg/L. Among these 3-cyanopyridine derivatives, the MICs of compound 5h against S. epidermidis and C. albicans were 15.6 mg/L, which revealed that compound 5h featured double fluoro substituents at meta- and para-position was the most active compound. In addition, the preliminary structure–activity relationship analysis indicated that the change of substituents on the pyridine ring and benzene ring of 3-cyanopyridine derivatives was an important factor for inducing antimicrobial activity. This research would promote the development of heterocyclic derivatives of β-pinene with antimicrobial activity.

Graphical abstractA series of novel 3-cyanopyridine compounds were synthesized from the natural resource β-pinene, and their antimicrobial activities were evaluated.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide