Triazole-chalcones: Lack of antibacterial, anti-candida, and anti-dengue virus activities

Background: The need to identify new antimicrobial drugs that present different mechanisms of action is urgent. The variety of biological properties of chalcones give them a potential therapeutic compounds. Chalcones' synthetic manipulations are investigated worldwide in search of more powerful and efficient drugs to several infectious diseases' treatment. Objective: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the potential antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-dengue virus (DENV) of new ten triazole chalcones. Materials and Methods: Triazole chalcones were used to determine its antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis), Gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) species, and anti-Candida activity (Candida albicans) by the broth microdilution assay. The anti-DENV activity was evaluated by cell viability quantification after viral infection by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. Results: Although Triazole chalcones have shown a low cytotoxicity concentration (with CC50of 47.21–192.51 μg/mL), these compounds did not exhibit antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, C. albicans neither DENV, even in the highest concentration tested. Triazole chalcones had no activity against all tested microorganisms, except for Gram-positive S. epidermidis bacteria when a poor antimicrobial effect was observed (125 μg/mL). Conclusion: The results suggest that triazole chalcones investigated in this study are not promising antimicrobial agents.