Novel series of 3-O-arylalkylbenzamide and 3-O-arylalkyl-2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their on-target activity and antibacterial activity. The results indicated that the 3-O-arylalkyl-2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives possessed much better on-target activity and antibacterial activity than the 3-O-arylalkylbenzamide derivatives. Among them, 3-O-chlorobenzyl derivative 36 was the most effective in antibacterial activity (0.5, 4, and 8 μg/mL) against Bacillus subtilis ATCC9372, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29213, and penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus PR, while 3-O-methylbenzyl derivative 41 only exhibited the most potent activity (2 μg/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923.

Cancer is a serious disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth division of cells, and nowadays it remains a significant challenge for the medical field. Malaria is an infectious disease in the similar situation to cancer. Almost 40% people in the world live in areas with malaria risk and each year there are about 2 to 3 million people dying from malaria. Farnesyltransferase (FTase) that belongs to isoprenyltransferase family can catalyze the initial step of Ras-processing and is identified as a promising target for the treatment of cancer and malaria. During the past decade years, a large number of FTase inhibitors with anticancer or antimalarial activity have been reported and some of them are undergoing clinical development. This review mainly introduces the FTase inhibitors as anticancer and antimalarial agents, with focus on their enzyme inhibitory activity, stability and enzyme selectivity, etc. In particular, the promising new FTase inhibitors among them will be discussed in detail and the inspirations for their design will be highlighted.

γ-Butenolides are useful structural motifs in many pharmaceutically relevant compounds. In particular, halogenated γ-butenolides are attractive building blocks because the halogen handles can readily be manipulated to give various functional molecules. In this study, a catalytic synthesis of halogenated γ-butenolides from cyclopropene carboxylic acids was developed using zwitterionic catalysts and N-haloamides as the halogen sources. The catalytic protocol could also be applied to the synthesis of halogenated pyrrolones by using cyclopropene amides as the starting materials.

1,2‐Diol mono‐esters are useful building blocks in various areas. Herein, we report an efficient zwitterion‐catalyzed epoxide ring‐opening with carboxylic acids to give 1,2‐diol monoesters. The catalytic protocol was applicable to a wide range of substrates. In addition, aziridine instead of epoxide could be used. The zwitterionic catalyst could be recycled by a simple aqueous extraction. The synthetic utilities of the 1,2‐diol monoesters have been demonstrated.