Transition metal (Ii) complexes of (e)-n-(4-methylbenzylidene)-2-((z)-(4-methylbenzylidene)amino)benzamides: Synthesis, characterization and their biological evaluation

Abstract

A novel series of transition metal (II) complexes (5a-h) were conveniently synthesized via reaction of important transition metals (Co, Cu, Zn, Ni) with (E)-N-(4-methylbenzylidene)-2-((Z)-(4-methylbenzylidene)amino)benzamide Schiff base (3) which was previously synthesized by reacting 2-aminobenzohydrazide (1) with 4-methylbenzaldehyde (2). The synthesized metal complexes' structure was elucidated by IR, NMR, mass, and elemental analysis. Additionally, we also evaluated the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activity of the synthesized metal complexes. The bioassay of the novel transition metal complexes envisioned that compounds5eand5c showed better antimicrobial activity than the free ligand, and compounds5g and 5a showed good activity against most bacterial strains. On the other hand, hydrated metal complexes 5b, 5d, 5f, and 5h showed moderate to good antimicrobial activity. In comparison with ascorbic acid, most of the metal complexes showed moderate to good antioxidant activity. The current bioassay was investigated and proved that the compounds 5e and 5c as antimicrobial agents act on highly resistant strains of microbes.