Repurposing of monocyclic β-lactams as anti-inflammatory agents – The case of new ferrocene-azetidin-2-one hybrids

Abstract

There is growing interest in developing monotherapy drugs that treat inflammation caused by microbial infections, focusing on dual antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents with minimal side effects and high safety margins. This study synthesized and characterized a library of novel cis-4-ferrocenylazetidin-2-ones, evaluating their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. These organometallic monocyclic β-lactams showed moderate in vitro antimicrobial activity against various standard microbial strains, including yeasts and Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Some compounds overcame the resistance of clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Traditionally, monocyclic β-lactams target Gram-negative bacilli, but adding a ferrocene moiety and substituting the COOH group near the N-1 position with a non-ionizable ester group (COOR) extended their activity spectrum. The anti-inflammatory properties were assessed in macrophage-based models, revealing non-cytotoxicity below 10 μM. Two compounds were shown to be strong and selective arginase inhibitors, while five others effectively suppressed excessive NO formation without affecting basal NO production. The presence of a phenoxy group at C-3 of the β-lactam ring appeared to be crucial for selective NO inhibition. These hybrids did not scavenge NO but inhibited NO synthesis by suppressing iNOS expression. Overall, two novel hybrids were identified as promising hit candidates for treating infection-induced inflammatory reactions.