Biologically relevant surrogates of coumarins: 2-phenyl H-isophosphinoline 2-oxides with antibacterial activity

The present study aims to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activities of several isophosphinoline-2-oxides that can be perceived as combined bio isosteres coumarins and flavonoids. More specifically, activity was evaluated against four bacterial strains, including Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus Enterococcus faecalis by using disk diffusion assay. Notably, isophosphinoline-2-oxide compounds showed promising highly selective antimicrobial S. aureus.