SYNTHESIS, CRYSTAL STRUCTURES, AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF A SERIES OF HYDRAZONE COMPOUNDS DERIVED FROM 4-METHYLBENZOHYDRAZIDE

ABSTRACT A series of hydrazone compounds, 4-methyl- N’ -(4-nitrobenzylidene)benzohydrazide methanol solvate ( 1 ), N’ -(4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzylidene)-4-methylbenzohydrazide dimethanol solvate ( 2 ), and N’ -(3,5-dibromobenzylidene)-4-methylbenzohydrazide ( 3 ), derived from 4-methylbenzohydrazide with different benzaldehydes, were synthesized and characterized by physico-chemical methods and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystals of the compounds are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, as well as π···π stacking interactions. Antibacterial activity of the compounds against Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , and Klebsielle pneumoniae strains was studied. Compounds 1 and 2 have moderate minimum inhibition concentration values on the tested bacteria strains. Compound 3 , with the Br-substituent groups, showed the highest activity on the bacterial strains. Keywords: Synthesis; crystal structure; hydrazone compound; hydrogen bonding; antibacterial activity. 1 INTRODUCTION