Alkaline Hydrolysis Kinetics and No-Donor Activity of Tenonitrozole

The kinetics of alkaline hydrolysis of N-(5-nitro-2-thiazolyl)-2-thiophenylcarboxamide (tenonitrozole or atrican) has been studied by photometric and polarographic techniques, and the thermodynamic parameters in the intermediate state of this process were determined. A mechanism explaining the nitric oxide (NO) production during the hydrolytic decomposition of tenonitrozole is proposed. It is suggested that the antiprotozoal and antimicrobial activity of this drug under anaerobic conditions is related to the formation of nitro radical anions and NO. Under aerobic and microaerophilic conditions, the hydrolysis of tenonitrozole may lead to the formation of a peroxynitrite anion, which is a strong cytotoxic agent. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 15 – 18, June, 2005.