Greener Synthetic and Nanotechnological Bridge: Theoretical and Practical Biological Approach Toward the Bactericidal Dual Action Mechanism of Azomethine–Nanosilver Hybrid

ABSTRACT

An efficient, clean, cheap, and quick procedure for the condensation of aromatic primary amine, namely, 4-aminophenazone, with different aryl carbonyls to produce azomethines under solvent-free and catalyst-free conditions at room temperature has been described. Their structures were confirmed by ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), mass spectra, and elemental analysis. The corresponding azomethines has been screened virtually using bioinformatical parameters on the basis of hypothetical antibacterial pharmacophore structure designed to interact with both of gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria. The virtually screened molecules were subjected to screening against certain strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Based on the results of initial screening, the bactericidal action of some selected compounds has been increased by hybrid coupling with silver nanoparticles. The results thus obtained are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• azomethines
• pharmacophore
• molecular properties
• screening

The authors thank the University Grant Commission, New Delhi, for financial support. We thank Rajiv Gandhi, Centre of Biotechnology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, for biological screening. We are grateful to SAIF Punjab University, Chandigarh, for the help in undertaking NMR and mass and IR spectra. Professor T. Ben Hadda thanks ACTELION, the Biopharmaceutical Company of Switzerland, for the molecular properties calculations and the Ministry of High Sciences and Education for financial support under “PGR-UMP-BH-2005.”