Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of some new coumarin derivatives as potential antimicrobial agents.

A series of 4-methyl-7-O-substituted coumarins (3-12) was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity against two Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis), four Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris) and three fungal strains (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus terreus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by two-fold serial dilution technique. The results of bioactive assay showed that some of the synthesized coumarins displayed comparable or even better antibacterial and antifungal activities against tested strains in comparison with reference drugs erythromycin, novobiocin and amphotericin B. Compound 9 showed potent antimicrobial activities against seven of the nine microbial strains examined in this study with MIC values ranging between 1.09 and 25 µg/mL and was the most active compound of the series. The present work also describes the effect of substituent on bioactivity.