Synthesis and Comparative Antimicrobial Study of Schiff bases and Beta-lactam Derivatives

Background: The project has been aimed at the synthesis of some novel cyclic and heterocyclic analogues like Schiff bases and cyclization of Schiff bases to synthesize Beta-lactam derivatives. Methods: The synthesized Schiff bases and Beta-lactam derivatives were characterized by IR, NMR, Mass Spectra followed by Elemental Analysis for carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. All the compounds were screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against two Gram +ve (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) & two Gram ?ve (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacterial strains by agar-well diffusion method. Results: The Schiff bases were found to exhibit either no or low to moderate activity against one or more bacterial species. On contrary all the Beta-lactam derivatives exhibited varied activity against different bacteria. The inactive and less active Schiff bases became active and more active after cyclization, respectively.