The synthesis and evaluation of benzofuranones as β-Lactamase substrates Original Research Article

6- and 7-Carboxy-3-phenylacetamido-3H-1-benzofuran-2-one have been synthesized as potential β-lactamase substrates and/or inhibitors. These compounds were prepared by lactonization of the corresponding, appropriately substituted phenylglycines. The latter compounds were prepared by either the Strecker or the Bücherer–Berg method. The benzofuran-2-ones were less stable in aqueous solution than the analogous acyclic phenaceturate esters but comparably stable to analogous benzopyran-2-ones. They differed from the latter compounds however in that the C-3 hydrogen of the furan-2-ones, adjacent to the lactone carbonyl group, was distinctly acidic; 7-carboxy-3-phenylacetamido-3H-1-benzofuran-2-one exists largely as an enolate at pH 7.5. The furan-2-ones were β-lactamase substrates with reactivity very similar to the analogous acyclic phenaceturates. They were not, however, dd-peptidase inhibitors and are thus unlikely to have antibiotic activity. The structural basis for these observations is discussed.