Concise Synthesis of Pseudane IX, Its N-Oxide, and Novel Carboxamide Analogs with Antibacterial Activity

A four-step synthesis of the natural product pseudane IX, starting from 3-oxododecanoic acid phenylamide and including only one chromatographic purification, was accomplished with an overall yield of 52%. The same synthetic sequence, but with a controlled partial reduction of a nitro group in the penultimate intermediate, led to the N-oxide of pseudane IX (NQNO). A shortened three-step variation of the synthesis allowed for the preparation of novel carboxamide analogs of the natural product. An agar diffusion assay against six different bacterial strains revealed significant antibacterial activity of the novel analogs against S. aureus at a concentration of 100 mu g/mL. One of the novel compounds showed a remarkably broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, comparable to that of the positive control NQNO.