Diaryl ethers with carboxymethoxyphenacyl motif as potent HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors with improved solubility FrączekTomasz KamińskiRafał KrakowiakAgnieszka NaessensEvelien VerhasseltBruno PanethPiotr 2017 <p>In search of new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) with improved solubility, two series of novel diaryl ethers with phenacyl moiety were designed and evaluated for their HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition potentials. All compounds exhibited good to excellent results with IC<sub>50</sub> at low micromolar to submicromolar concentrations. Two most active compounds (<b>7e</b> and <b>7 g</b>) exhibit inhibitory potency comparable or even better than that of nevirapine and rilpivirine. Furthermore, SupT1 and CD4<sup>+</sup> cell infectivity assays for the most promising (<b>7e</b>) have confirmed its strong antiviral potential while docking studies indicate a novel binding interactions responsible for high activity.</p>