Anticoccidial derivatives of 6-azauracil. 4. A 1000-fold enhancement of potency by phenyl sulfide and phenyl sulfone side chains.

We report further progress in exploiting our earlier discovery that the anticoccidial activity of 6-azauracil increases markedly when appropriately substituted benzyl or phenyl groups are attached at N-1. With guidance from previous structure-activity relationships and a multiple linear regression analysis, 6-azauracils containing phenyl sulfone or phenyl sulfide side chains were prepared. These prevented a broad spectrum of coccidial infections in chickens at minimum inhibitory concentrations by weight in feed as low as 0.25 ppm, a 4000-fold increase in potency over 6-azauracil, and had shorter plasma half-lives than earlier potent analogues. Sulfides were more potent than sulfones, although they were oxidized rapidly to sulfones in vivo.

Anticoccidial derivatives of 6-azauracil. 3. Synthesis, high activity, and short plasma half-life of 1-phenyl-6-azauracils containing sulfonamide substituents.

A series of 1-phenyl-6-azauracils containing sulfonamide substituents was prepared. In contrast to previous 1-phenyl-6-azauracils, some of these sulfonamides combine high activity against Eimeria tenella infections in chickens with a very rapid rate of clearance from plasma. Most active was 1-[3'-chloro-5'-methyl-4'-(morpholinylsulfonyl)phenyl]-6-azauracil, with a minimum effective concentration in feed of about 10 ppm.

Anticoccidial derivatives of 6-azauracil. 1. Enhancement of activity by benzylation of nitrogen-1. Observations on the design of nucleotide analogues in chemotherapy.

Benzylation of 6-azauracil at N-1 (which corresponds to the point of attachment of the ribose phosphate unit in pyrimidine nucleotides) has been found to augment its anticoccidial activity fourfold. The high potency of 1-benzyl-6-azauracil is ascribed to a combination of intrinsic activity, efficient oral absorption, and a moderate rate of excretion. Metabolism experiments using 1-benzyl-6-azauracil labeled with 14C in the heterocycle and (separately) in the side chain showed that, in the drug accounted for, no cleavage had occurred. Additional activity increases were achieved by introducing small, electron-withdrawing substituents in the meta and/or para position(s) of the benzyl group. One of the most active derivaties, 1-(3-cyanobenzyl)-6-azauracil, is about 16 times as potent as 6-azauracil.