Disclosed herein are mixed steroidal tetraoxanes having the following structural formula 1
wherein n is 0, 1, 2, or 3; R is H; ethanoyl, propanoyl, or benzoyl; R1 is H, methyl, ethyl, or isopropyl; R2 is H, methyl, or ethyl; R3 is H, methyl, or ethyl; R4 is H, methyl, ethyl, tert-butyl, phenyl, p-hydroxyphenyl, p-methoxyphenyl, or p-nitrophenyl, or
wherein Y is a C1-C4 straight or branched-chain alkoxy, or
wherein W is N, R5 is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, or methyl ethanoate 2-yl, and R6 is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, or n-propyl, or R5 and R6 are part of a pyrrolidine or piperidine ring; X is a C1-C4 straight or branched-chain alkoxy, a primary amino, a N-alkylamino wherein the alkyl is a straight-chain alkyl groups containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, methyl ethanoate-2-yl, N-phenylamino, p-nitrophenyl, N,N-dimethylamino, N,N-diethylamino, N,N-di(n-propyl)amino, N-pyrrolidino, or N-piperidino as single compounds, and any mixture of all possible stereoisomers at C(4″). n may be 0, 1, 2, or 3, and methods of making and using thereof. As disclosed herein, the mixed steroidal tetraoxanes of the present invention exhibit antimalarial, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activity. Thus, as disclosed herein, the mixed steroidal tetraoxanes of the present invention may be used to treat, prevent, or inhibit malaria, bacterial infections, and diseases and disorders associated with cell proliferation in a subject.