Gobec_2004_Bioorg.Med.Chem.Lett_14_3559

The first phosphonate inhibitors of antigen 85C--a major protein component of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall possessing mycolyltransferase activity were prepared using structure-based design. These potential novel antituberculosis agents, consisting of a phosphonate moiety, hydrophobic alkyl chain and a simple trehalose-mimicking aromatic structure, were designed as tetrahedral transition-state analogue inhibitors of antigen 85C, which catalyzes the key mycolyltransferase reaction involved in cell wall biosynthesis.