Synthesis and characterization of carbazole derivatives and their antimicrobial studies.

The reaction of 1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazoles (1a-e) with paraformaldehyde and ethylenediamine yielded N,N'-bis(1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazol-1-ylidene)ethane-1,2-diamines (2a-e). Here, like in another similar attempt of replacing ethylenediamine by ethanolamine, ended up in formation of 2-{[1-(2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethylimino)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazol-2-yl-methyl]amino}ethanols (3a-e). These products were characterized by IR, (1)H NMR, mass spectra and by elemental analysis. All end products (2a-e, 3a-e) were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities. The compounds having substituents at C-6 position were found to exhibit pronounced antimicrobial activities.