Antifungal Properties of 2-Alkenoic Acids and 2-Bromo Alkanoic Acids

The antifungal activity of homologous series of 2-alkenoic and 2-bromo alkanoic acids was determined against Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, Myrothecium verrucaria, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes and compared with data on analogous alkanoic and 2-fluoro alkanoic acids. The fungitoxicity of all of the series of compounds was determined by chain length, pH of the medium, and presence or absence of adsorbents such as serum albumin. The order of toxicity on a molecular basis, by using a scale where the most active series is 1.0, is 2-bromo alkanoic acids (1.0) > 2-fluoro alkanoic acids (1.2) > alkanoic acids (1.4) > 2-alkenoic acids (2.5).