Zinc complexes of benzothiazole-derived Schiff bases with antibacterial activity.

Reaction of 2-acetamidobenzaldehyde with 2-amino-, 2-amino-4-methyl-, 2-amino-4-methoxy-, 2-amino-4-chloro-, 2-amino-6-nitro- and 2-amino-6-methylsufonylbenzothiazole afforded a series of Schiff bases. These compounds have been used for complexation reactions to obtain Zn(II) chelates having the same metal ion but different anions of the type [Zn(L)2]Xn [L = Schiff base derivative, X = SO4, NO3, C2O4 and CH3CO2 and n = 1 or 2] These complexes (Table I) have been characterized by physical, spectral, and analytical data. The Schiff bases act tridentately and their metal complexes were proposed to possess an octahedral geometry. To evaluate the antibacterial role of the anion, these compounds have been screened for antibacterial properties against pathogenic strains such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.