N-Sulfonyl homoserine lactones as antagonists of bacterial quorum sensing
A series of 11 N-sulfonyl homoserine lactones has been synthesised. Some of them were found to competitively inhibit the action of 3-oxohexanoyl-L- homoserine lactone, the natural inducer of bioluminescence in the bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Molecular modeling suggests a possible explanation based on the prevention of structural rearrangements necessary for the formation of the active dimer of LuxR.