Effects of Aryl Substituents on the Anti-HIV Activity of the Arylphosphoramidate Derivatives of Stavudine

We compared the anti-HIV activity of 13 phenyl phosphate derivatives of stavudine (2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine/d4T) by examining their ability to inhibit HIV-1 replication in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our results show that the introduction of electron-withdrawing substituents enhances the activity of these phosphoramidate derivatives. The rate of chemical hydrolysis under alkaline conditions (but not the lipophilicity) predicted the potency of the compounds.