Pyrimidine-derived disulfides as potential antimicrobial agents: Synthesis and evaluation in vitro

Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem. The synthesis and evaluation of new antimicrobial compounds, without cytotoxicity against human cells, are highly desired. In this paper, the preparation of a class of pyrimidine-derived disulfides is described. Sulfenic acids were generated from suitable precursors and used as reactive intermediates that condensed with the thiol function of thiocytosine. An introductory study on the antimicrobial activity of this disulfide family is reported. Three family components, that revealed no cytotoxicity against human erythrocytes, exhibited inhibitory activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus.