Synthesis of novel Schiff bases containing arylpyrimidines as promising antibacterial agents

Pursuing our recent interest regarding the antimicrobial activity of Schiff bases derivatives, we have synthesized a series of 6-(substitutedphenyl)-N'-((E)-(substitutedphenyl)methylidene)-2-methylpyridine-3-carbohydrazides (5a-n) and evaluated their antibacterial activity. Structures of these compounds were confirmed by standard studies of FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS and elemental analysis. Antibacterial activity of synthesized molecules was tested against Gram-positive (S. aureus and E. faecalis) and Gram-negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) bacterial strains. Synthesized compounds showed good antibacterial activity at a lower concentration than standard. Most of the compounds (5a, 5c, 5i, 5j and 5n) are potent against all the tested bacterial strains with MIC values ranging from 1.56-12.5 μg/mL.