Malaria and tuberculosis are still among the leading causes of death in low-income countries. The 1,4-naphthoquinone (NQ) scaffold can be found in a variety of anti-infective agents. Herein, we report an optimised, high yield process for the preparation of various 2-arylnaphthoquinones by a palladium-catalysed Suzuki reaction. All synthesised compounds were evaluated for their in-vitro antiprotozoal and antimycobacterial activity. Antiprotozoal activity was assessed against Plasmodium falciparum (P.f.) NF54 and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T.b.r.) STIB900, and antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis (M.s.) mc² 155. Substitution with pyridine and pyrimidine rings significantly increased antiplasmodial potency of our compounds. The 2-aryl-NQs exhibited trypanocidal activity in the nM range with a very favourable selectivity profile. (Pseudo)halogenated aryl-NQs were found to have a pronounced effect indicating inhibition of mycobacterial efflux pumps. Cytotoxicity of all compounds towards L6 cells was evaluated and the respective selectivity indices (SI) were calculated. In addition, the physicochemical parameters of the synthesised compounds were discussed.

疟疾和结核病仍然是低收入国家死亡的主要原因。1,4-萘醌（NQ）支架可以在多种抗感染剂中找到。本文中，我们报道了一种通过钯催化的Suzuki反应制备各种2-芳基萘醌的优化，高产工艺。评价所有合成的化合物的体外抗原生动物和抗分枝杆菌活性。评估了抗恶性疟原虫（Pf。）NF54和布氏锥虫（Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense）（Tbr） STIB900的抗原生动物活性，以及​​对耻垢分枝杆菌（Ms） mc ^2的抗分枝杆菌活性。155.用吡啶和嘧啶环取代显着提高了我们化合物的抗血浆效力。2-芳基-NQ在nM范围内表现出锥虫杀灭活性，并具有非常有利的选择性。发现（伪）卤代芳基-NQ具有明显的作用，表明分枝杆菌外排泵受到抑制。评估所有化合物对L6细胞的细胞毒性，并计算各自的选择性指数（SI）。此外，还讨论了合成化合物的理化参数。