Reaction of Pyo compounds with sodium hypoiodite.

It was noted early in the investigations of the Pyo compounds that treatment of Pyo I1 with an alkaline iodine solution resulted in the formation of a product which was markedly more active against Staphy1ococcu.s aureus than was the original substance. In t.hese cases, the activity of the product was about 10 times that of the starting material (1). Since it was known that this reagent has the power to cleave carbon to carbon linkages in certain types of structures (2), the effect of this reagent on the Pyo compounds was studied in the hope of obtaining more active antibiotic substances which would be degradation products of the original compounds. As expected from the earlier work, the products of the reaction of sodium hypoiodite with Pyo Ib, Pyo Ic, Pyo II, and Pyo III were much more active against S. aureus than were the parent compounds; however, the formulas obtained from analyses of these substances indicate that in general the reaction was one of substitution and not of cleavage.