Towards the synthesis of coumarin derivatives as potential dual-action HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors

3-(Chloromethyl)coumarins, obtained via acid-catalysed cyclisation of salicylaldehyde-derived Baylis-Hillman adducts, have been treated with propargylamine; reaction of the resulting 3-alkynylmethylcoumarins with azidothymidine (AZT) in the presence of a Cu(I) catalyst has afforded a series of cycloaddition products for evaluation, in their own right, as potential dual-action HIV-1 protease and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and as scaffolds for further structural elaboration. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.