Antiparasitic activity of 1,3-dioxolanes containing tellurium in Trichomonas vaginalis

Abstract The increased prevalence of metronidazole-resistant infections has resulted in a search for alternative drugs for the treatment of trichomoniasis. In the present study, we report the preparation and in vitro activity of three 1,3-dioxolanes that contain tellurium (PTeDOX 01, PTeDOX 02, and PTeDOX 03) against Trichomonas vaginalis . Six concentrations of these compounds were analyzed for in vitro activity against ATCC 30236 isolate of T. vaginalis . PTeDOX 01 reported a cytotoxic effect against 100% of T. vaginalis trophozoites at a final concentration of 90 μM with an IC 50 of 60 μM. The kinetic growth curve of trophozoites indicated that PTeDOX 01 reduced the growth by 22% at a concentration of 90 μM after an exposure of 12 h, and induced complete parasite death at 24 h. It induced cytotoxicity of 44% at 90 μM concentration but and had no effect in lower concentrations in a culture of CHO-K1 cells. These results confirmed that PTeDOX 01 is an important drug for the treatment of T. vaginalis, and should be evaluated in other infectious agents as well.