Screening of biological activities of a series of chalcone derivatives against human pathogenic microorganisms.

In an effort to develop new antimicrobial agents, a series of chalcone derivatives, 3-60, were prepared by Claisen-Schmidt condensation of appropriate acetophenones and 2-furyl methyl ketones with appropriate aromatic aldehydes, furfural, and thiophene-2-carbaldehyde in an aqueous solution of NaOH and EtOH at room temperature. The synthesized compounds were characterized by means of their IR- and NMR-spectral data, and elemental analysis. All compounds were tested for their antibacterial and antifungal activities by the disc diffusion method. For the most active compounds, also minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined.