Design, synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of benzimidazole containing 4-thiazolidinone based 5-arylidene derivatives

In an attempt to design a potent class of antimicrobials, we have synthesized benzimidazole derivatives based on 4-thiazolidinone which possessed 5-arylidenes 5a-o by using different catalysts under multistep conventional synthesis. Structures of the synthesized compounds have been established based on spectral data and compounds have been screened for their antimicrobial activity. Compound 5j shows maximum potency against all Gram-positive bacteria with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range of 25-50 μg/mL while moderate activity against Gram-negative bacterial strains is observed with a MIC value of 62.50 μg/mL. Compound 5n is found to be the most active against fungal strains with a MIC value of 250 μg/mL.