Novel trifluoromethyl sydnone derivatives: Design, synthesis and fungicidal activity

Crop pathogens reduce the yield and quality of agricultural production. The development of new fungicides will help to sustain this protection and overcome fungicide resistance. Sydnone is a kind of mesoionic, which has a wide range of biological activities. The application of sydnones in agriculture is less, and the study of these compounds will lead to the discovery of new active compounds. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of noval sydnone mesoionic derivatives by active substructure splicing. All compounds were characterized using ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Among them, trifluoromethyl compound D17 showed good bioactivity against Pseudoperonospora cubensis (EC₅₀ = 49 mg L⁻¹) in vivo, the activity was similar to that of the control Kresoxim-methyl (EC₅₀ = 44 mg L⁻¹). However, the target of these compounds should not only be tyrosinase, and the mode of action needs to be further studied. In addition, the structure–activity relationship indicated that the trifluoromethyl group was more beneficial for antifungal activity. This is the first report that fluorine-containing N(3)-benzyl sydnone compounds have good fungicidal activity. These results will provide a basis for the development of sydnone mesoionic as new lead fungicidal agents.