Recent trends in the design of antimicrobial agents using Ugi-multicomponent reaction

Abstract

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) forms of several bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites pose a serious challenge to human health and economy. Hence, the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires the expedient discovery of novel antimicrobial agents with a unique mode of action. Ugi multicomponent reaction (Ugi-MCR) and its variants have proved to be an important tool in the hand of a medicinal chemist. Traditional Ugi reaction provides one-step access to peptide-like molecules. However, several modifications of Ugi products are now available, enabling the design of diverse molecular scaffolds. This has tremendously expanded the scope of Ugi-MCR in drug discovery. This review focuses on the recently reported application of Ugi reaction in the design of molecules against important pathogenic microbes and parasites. The design, synthesis, and bioactivities of important lead molecules from the literature is discussed. Towards the end, we also provide our perspective highlighting the overall trends in Ugi-MCR enabled antimicrobial drug design and future prospects.