SYNTHESIS AND ANTI-HIV-1 ACTIVITY OF 4,5,6,7-TETRAHYDRO-5-METHYLIMIDAZO[4,5,1-JK][1,4]BENZODIAZEPIN-2(1H)-ONE (TIBO) DERIVATIVES .2.

In the first paper of this series a new structure with anti-HIV-1 activity was disclosed and analogues were synthesized to explore the structure-activity relationship of changes in the substituent (R) attached at the N-6 position of 9. This study describes the syntheses and anti-HIV-1 testing of analogues with variations of the five-membered urea ring of the 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-5-methylimidazo[4,5,1-jk][1,4]benzodiazepin-2(H-1)-one (TIBO) structures. Although many different rings were synthesized to replace the cyclic urea of TIBO, most were found to be inactive in inhibiting the replication of the HIV-1 virus in MT-4 cells. The exceptions were replacement of the urea oxygen with sulfur or selenium to give the corresponding thio- or selenoureas. These were found to be more active than the oxygen counterparts. A small series of analogues was synthesized and tested which allowed direct comparison of urea and thiourea derivatives. Without exception, the latter were always more active than the former. The most active compound of this series (8d) was found to inhibit the HIV-1 virus with an IC50 of 0.012-mu-M which is comparable to that of AZT.