Synthesis and characterisation of formohydrazide derivatives as potential antimicrobial agents: molecular docking and DFT studies

Abstract

A novel series of formohydrazide derivatives (3a-3j) were synthesised and characterised by FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectral techniques. The geometrical parameters of compound 3d were calculated by using the DFT method B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The title molecule's dipole moment, polarizability, and first-order hyperpolarizability were calculated and interpreted. The HOMO–LUMO transition occurs when a molecule undergoes intra-molecular charge transfer. The reactive sites of the molecule are studied using the Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) surface. In addition, using the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, the Mulliken atomic charges of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, chlorine, and hydrogen atoms were determined. The compounds 3a-j were tested for their in vitro antibacterial activity against five bacterial strains viz., Gram-Positive bacteria species Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aurous and Gram-Negative bacteria species Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The tested antimicrobial activities of the compounds were compared with the standard drug of Ciprofloxacin for bacteria and Ketocanazone for fungal. The compounds 3c, 3d and 3e showed excellent antifungal activities than the standard fungal strains. Molecular docking analysis was used to investigate the interaction of the title compound with a target protein.