Inhibition of Chitin Synthetase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a New UDP-GlcNAc Analogue

Abstract

The synthesis and biological evaluation of a new UDP-G1cNAc competitor (I), designed to mimic the transition state of the sugar donor in the enzymatic reaction catalysed by chitin synthetase, is described. Compound (I) was found to competitively inhibit chitin synthetase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with respect to UDP-G1cNAc, but displayed minimal antifungal activity.