Diaryl ethers with carboxymethoxyphenacyl motif as potent HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors with improved solubility.

In search of new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) with improved solubility, two series of novel diaryl ethers with phenacyl moiety were designed and evaluated for their HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition potentials. All compounds exhibited good to excellent results with IC50 at low micromolar to submicromolar concentrations. Two most active compounds (7e and 7g) exhibit inhibitory potency comparable or even better than that of nevirapine and rilpivirine. Furthermore, SupT1 and CD4(+) cell infectivity assays for the most promising (7e) have confirmed its strong antiviral potential while docking studies indicate a novel binding interactions responsible for high activity.