Synthesis and preliminary evaluation of some pyrazine containing thiazolines and thiazolidinones as antimicrobial agents.

A series of N'-[3,4-disubstituted-1,3-thiazol-2(3H)-ylidene]-2-(pyrazin-2-yloxy)acetohydrazide 11-66 and N'-[(2Z)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-2-ylidene]-2-(pyrazin-2-yloxy)acetohydrazide 68-74 were synthesized using appropriate synthetic route. The entire test compounds 11-66 and 68-74 were assayed in vitro for antibacterial activity against two different strains of Gram-negative (E. coli and S. typhi), Gram-positive (S. aureus and B. subtilis) bacteria and the antimycobacterial activity was evaluated against H(37)Rv strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for test compounds and for reference standards. The test compounds showed significant antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity against the microbial strains used, when tested in vitro. In general, pyrazine ring and substituted thiazoline ring are essential for antimicrobial activity. Among the compounds tested, compounds 11, 12 and 40 were found to be most potent. The toxicity of most potent compounds 11, 12 and 40 were determined using hemolytic assay and minimal hemolytic concentration (MHCs) were determined. The test compounds were found to be nontoxic up to a dose level of 250 microg/mL.