Multicomponent Solvent-free Synthesis of Novel 2-((Benzylthio)((alkyl or arylamino)thio)methylene)malononitriles as Antimicrobial Agents

Organic compounds containing C-S-C bonds are known as sulfides or thioethers.These functional groups exist alone or alongside others in various pharmaceutical and biologically active molecules [1]. New methods and procedures were proposed to synthesize organic sulfides [2]. In this study, multicomponent reaction of malononitrile, alkyl or arylisothiocyanates and various benzyl halides was developed as an efficient strategy for the synthesis of novel 2-((benzylthio)((alkyl or arylamino)thio)methylene)malononitrile derivatives via two different procedures: (a) in the presence of K2CO3 as a base in acetonitrile and (b) under solvent-free conditionsin the presence of thriethyamine (Fig. 1). Higher yields with shorter reaction times were obtained from later procedure. Chemical structure of all molecules were determined according to their spectral data and elemental analyses. In vitro inhibitory activity of all derivatives was evaluated against some Gram-negative and Grampositive bacteria as well as some pathogenic fungi according to the CLSI guidelines [3]. The results as inhibition zone diameter (IZD), the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values were compared with those of antibiotics and antifungal drugs. These thioethers can be introduced as potential antimicrobial agents based on their broad-spectrum inhibitory properties.