Figure 2.

General structure of 3-hydroxy-4-pyranone (HP) based inhibitors previously designed in our laboratory and two halogenated derivatives identified as lead compounds. The proposed chemotype satisfies minimal pharmacophore features for HIV-1 IN inhibition: the metal chelating triad (blue) and terminal hydrophobic benzyl group (red). The most promising HP compounds are shown with the IC₅₀ and EC₅₀ values for IN inhibitory and anti-HIV activities.