The synthesis of a series of 7-amino-1-cyclopropyl-8-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-1,6-naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acids as potential antibacterial agents

A series of 7-amino-1-cyclopropyl-1,4-dihydro-8-fluoro-4-oxo- 1,6-naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acids has been prepared and evaluated for antibacterial activity. These compounds were prepared by the displacement of the chloro substituent from 7-chloro-1-cyclopropyl-1,4-dihydro-8-fluoro-4-oxo-1,6-naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acid employing the requisite nitrogen nucleophile to produce the title compounds. The naphthyridine acid was synthesized in ten steps from ethyl 2,4-dihydroxy-3-nitro-5-pyridinecarboxylate. The key step in the sequence was a Schiemann reaction carried out using the hexafluorophosphate salt of the diazonium ion derived from ethyl 3-amino-2,4-dichloro-5-pyridinecarboxylate