In vitro and in vivo assessment of newer quinoxaline–oxadiazole hybrids as antimicrobial and antiprotozoal agents

A new series of N-(substituted-phenyl)-2-[5-(quinoxalin-2-yloxymethyl)-[1,3,4] oxadiazol-2-ylsulfanyl]-acetamides (5a–o) was designed and synthesised from the parent compound 2-hydroxy quinoxaline (1) through a multistep reaction sequence and was characterised by spectral and elemental analyses. All of the compounds synthesised were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antiprotozoal activities. The results revealed that quinoxaline-based 1,3,4-oxadiazoles displayed promising antibacterial, antifungal and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activities compared with reference drugs, particularly the lead compound 5l in a short-term in vivo model in T. cruzi.