A Novel Antifungal Agent with Broad Spectrum: 1‐(4‐Biphenylyl)‐3‐(1 H ‐imidazol‐1‐yl)‐1‐propanone

A series of (1‐substituted aryl)‐3‐(1 H ‐imidazol‐1‐yl)‐1‐propanones was synthesized through the N ‐alkylation of imidazole with 3‐dimethylamino‐1‐(substituted aryl)‐1‐propanone hydrochlorides (ketonic Mannich bases). A second series of N 1 ‐substituted imidazoles was obtained by the reduction of the carbonyl function of the imidazole–ketones in the previous series by means of NaBH 4 . All of the compounds were evaluated for antifungal activity against 16 strains of Candida , and 3‐(1 H ‐imidazol‐1‐yl)‐1‐(4‐biphenylyl)‐1‐propanone emerged as a broad‐spectrum antifungal agent. Several 3‐(1 H ‐imidazol‐1‐yl)‐1‐(2′‐(substituted benzyl)oxyphenyl)‐1‐propanones were also active towards Candida kefyr .