Examination of halogen substituent effects on HIV-1 integrase inhibitors derived from 2,3-dihydro-6,7-dihydroxy-1H-isoindol-1-ones and 4,5-dihydroxy-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-diones.

Using 2,3-dihydro-6,7-dihydroxy-1H-isoindol-1-one and 4,5-dihydroxy-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione based HIV-1 integrase inhibitors as display platforms, we undertook a thorough examination of the effects of modifying the halogen substituents on a key benzyl ring that is hypothesized to bind in a hydrophobic pocket of the integrase.DNA complex. Data from this study suggest that in general dihalo-substituted analogues have higher potency than monohalo-substituted compounds, but that further addition of halogens is not beneficial.