Complementary Performance of Organoselenides and Organotellurides as Antimicrobials Agents

Fungi and bacteria are well-known pathogens for plants, fruits, and animals, including humans. In this context, the prospection of antimicrobial agents is crucial to provide new alternatives for the treatment of microbial diseases. Hence, selenium- and tellurium-containing compounds are underexploited and herein, antimicrobial activity of several organochalcogenated compounds was evaluated against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. A direct comparison between Se- and Te-containing compounds was performed, as well as structure-activity relationship studies. Among assayed compounds, secondary Se-amines LQ16 and LQ20 and secondary Te-amine LQ28 showed excellent results against a variety of fungi, while primary Te-amine LQ10 demonstrated promising results against bacteria. These results suggest organoselenides and organotellurides may be used for the development of new antimicrobial agents.

真菌与细菌是广为人知的植物、果蔬乃至包括人类在内的动物的致病菌。在此背景下，抗菌剂的筛选与研发对于为微生物感染疾病的治疗提供全新替代方案至关重要。因此，含硒与含碲化合物的开发潜力尚未被充分挖掘。本研究对多种有机硫族化合物（organochalcogenated compounds）的抗菌活性进行了评估，测试对象涵盖革兰氏阴性菌、革兰氏阳性菌以及真菌。本研究同时开展了含硒化合物与含碲化合物的直接对比，以及构效关系研究。在所测试的化合物中，仲胺类硒化合物LQ16、LQ20以及仲胺类碲化合物LQ28对多种真菌均表现出优异的抗菌活性，而伯胺类碲化合物LQ10则对细菌展现出良好的应用前景。上述结果表明，有机硒化物与有机碲化物可用于开发新型抗菌剂。