Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and antibacterial activity of new cobalt(II) complexes of unsymmetrical tetradentate (OSN2) Schiff base ligands.

Cobalt ion complexes with the Schiff bases, (4-X-2-{[2-(2-pyridine-2-yl-ethylsulfanyl)ethylimino]methyl}phenol (X=methoxy (OMe), phenylazo (N(2)Ph), bromo (Br), nitro (NO(2))),were synthesized and investigated by several techniques using elemental analysis (C, H, N), FTIR, electronic spectra and molar conductivity. The thermal stability of free ligands and related cobalt complexes were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). Cyclic voltammetry indicates that the investigated cobalt complexes, under the experimental conditions, have irreversible redox behavior. The synthesized compounds have antibacterial activity against the four Gram-positive bacteria: Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis and also against the two Gram-negative bacteria: Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The activity data show that the parent Schiff bases are more potent antibacterials than the cobalt complexes.

Preparation of Zinc (II) and cadmium (II) complexes of the tetradentate Schiff base ligand 2-((E)-(2-(2-(pyridine-2-yl)- ethylthio)ethylimino)methyl)-4-bromophenol (PytBrsalH).

We describe the synthesis and characterization of two new zinc (II) and cadmium (II) complexes of the tetradentate dissymmetric Schiff base ligand 2-((E)-(2-(2-(pyridine-2-yl)ethylthio)ethylimino)methyl)-4-bromophenol (PytBrsalH), prepared from 1-(2-pyridyl)-3-thia-5-aminopentane (pyta) and 5-bromosalicylaldehyde. The complexes were synthesized by treating an ethanolic solution of the ligand with equimolar amounts of appropriate metal salts in 1 M methanolic solution of NaOH or alternatively, by a more direct route in which the two reactants are added to a solution of the ligand immediately after formation of the latter and prior to any isolation. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, (1)H-NMR, electronic spectra and molar conductivity. According to obtained data, the probable coordination geometries of zinc and cadmium in these complexes with mixed N, S and O donor atoms are tetrahedral- and octahedral-like,respectively. Both complexes were found to be 1:1 electrolyte systems in acetonitrile.