Antimalarial Preclinical Drug Development: A Single Oral Dose of A 5-Carbon-linked Trioxane Dimer Plus Mefloquine Cures Malaria-Infected Mice

Three new 5-carbon-linked trioxane dimer carboxylate esters have been prepared from the natural trioxane, artemisinin in only 3-steps and 40-50% overall yields. Each one of these new chemical entities is at least as efficacious as the clinically used trioxane antimalarial drug artemether when combined with mefloquine hydrochloride in a low single oral dose cure.