Synthesis of new quinazolin-2,4-diones as anti-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leishmania mexicana</Emphasis> agents

The quinazolin-2,4-dione moiety is found in many compounds with important biological activities making it a target for its synthesis. In this work, a one-pot three-step synthesis of new quinazolin-2,4-diones from phthalic anhydrides and their activity against Leishmania mexicana are described. The new quinazolin-2,4-diones were isolated with yields in the range of 32–70 %. All compounds displayed lower cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 macrophage over miltefosine. Compound 6,7-dichloro-3-phenylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (6e) displayed an attractive profile which includes anti-Leishmania mexicana activity (\(\hbox {IC}_{50} = 6.05\) \(\upmu \)M), much lower cytotoxic activity (\(\hbox {CC}_{50} = 111\) \(\upmu \)M) and a high selective index (\(\text {SI} = 18.35\)) proving to be superior to miltefosine.