A novel series of 3-morpholino rifamycins in which the C25 acetate group was replaced by a carbamate group were prepared and found to exhibit-significantly improved antimicrobial activity than rifampin against Mycobacterium smegmatis. Further characterization of such compounds suggests that relatively large groups attached to the rifamycin core via a C25 carbarnate linkage prevent inactivation via ribosylation of the C23 alcohol as catalyzed by the endogenous rifampin ADP-ribosyl transferase of M. smegmatis. SAR studies of the C25 carbarnate rifamycin series against M. smegmatis and other bacteria are reported. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.