Novel naphthoquinone derivatives and evaluation of their trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activities.

Herein, we report the synthesis of 12 new naphthoquinone derivatives, 6 substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones and 6 heterocycle-fused naphthoquinones, as well as evaluation of their trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activities. Compounds 11a and 13a were active against the amastigote stage of T. cruzi and showed low cytotoxic effects. With respect to leishmanicidal assays, all compounds were inactive against the promastigote stages of L. chagasi and L. braziliensis.