Optical Control of Antimicrobial Activity in Quinolone Derivatives

A series of photoswitchable compounds based on the antibiotics nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin has been designed and prepared. Different photoactive moieties have been used as templates in order to allow for the photocontrol of the antimicrobial properties while providing the adequate photophysical features and solubility required for practical applications. The designed compounds feature strong absorptions up to the visible region, are water-soluble and photoisomerize with high quantum yield. In the best case, a clear difference in the antimicrobial activity expressed as the minimal inhibitory concentration between the initial and the irradiated species was found. The complementary computational study allowed for the rationalization of the results found.