Quantitative structure-activity relationships of antimalarial and dihydrofolate reductase inhibition by quinazolines and 5-substituted benzyl-2,4-diaminopyrimidines.

A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for the inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase from S. faecium by quinazolines has been formulated. This is compared with a QSAR for inhibition of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase by 2,4-diamino-5-benzylpyrimidines. The QSAR for inhibition of bacterial enzyme is compared with QSAR for mammalian enzyme inhibition. A QSAR has been formulated for the antimalarial action of quinazolines against P. berghei in mice. The antimalarial QSAR is consistent with that of the in vitro bacterial study.