Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of novel benzo[b]furan derivatives bearing phenylcarbamate moiety

Benzo[b]furan ring systems bearing various substituent’s at the C-2 position are broadly distributed in nature and have been reported to have antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant activities. Many, 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives are well known to reveal a wide range of biological activities, including calcium blockers, phytoestrogens, antioxidative, anticancer, insecticidal, antiproliferative, antiviral, antifungal, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, antifeedant, and cancer preventative activity. The present paper the synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of ten new benzo[b]furan derivatives bearing sulphonamide and phenylcarbamate moieties from commercially available 4-methyl-2-nitrophenol as starting material. The newly synthesized benzo[b]furan derivatives 6a-6j compounds were screened to evaluate their antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pyogenes) and two Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Most of the compounds were found to display good to moderate antibacterial activity against all the above tested strains of bacteria.