Anti human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) agents 4. Discovery of 5,5'-(p-phenylenebisazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline sulfonates as new HIV-1 inhibitors in vitro.

To search for compounds with superior anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) activity, ten 5,5'-(p-phenylenebisazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline sulfonates (4a-j) were synthesized and preliminarily evaluated as HIV-1 inhibitors in vitro for the first time. Some compounds demonstrated anti-HIV-1 activity, especially 5,5'-(p-phenylenebisazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline p-ethylbenzenesulfonate (4g) and 5,5'-(p-phenylenebisazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline p-chlorobenzenesulfonate (4i) showed the more potent anti-HIV-1 activity with 50% effective concentration (EC(50)) values of 2.59 and 4.01 microg/ml, and therapeutic index (TI) values of 31.77 and 24.51, respectively.