Antibacterial potential of dicyanomethylene-dihydrofuran-based fluorophores: In vitro evaluation and in silico molecular docking studies

Abstract

Push-pull dicyanomethylene-dihydrofuran (DCDHF) symmetrical fluorophores were synthesized via a Knoevenagel condensation reaction between the DCDHF skeleton and tertiary amine-comprising aromatic aldehyde. The absorbance spectra of the DCDHF chromophores displayed attractive extinction coefficients, which was affected by the arylvinyl bridge and donor amine moiety. The functional groups bonded to the tertiary amine affected the maximum absorption wavelength. The antibacterial efficiency of the synthesized DCDHF-based chromophores was studied. Compounds 15, 16, and 18 revealed sensible activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria compared to Ampicillin as a standard reference. The binding connections to the (PDB:1LNZ) protein were studied by theoretical molecular docking stimulation.