Synthesis and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Mandelonitrile Derivatives

The search for alternative antimicrobial agents has continued to be a top priority due to the growing cases of resistant strains of bacterial and fungal species. This work evaluated the antimicrobial activity of some known mandelonitrile derivatives. Thus, the compounds were successfully obtained by reacting the appropriate aldehydes with the solution of sodium metabisulphite and sodium cyanide at room temperature. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by the NMR and FTIR techniques. Evaluation of the susceptibility of the compounds against four bacterial and one fungal species using disc diff method showed excellent zones of inhibitions for compounds 2b, 2d, 2e, and 2f against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (30.1 mm – 17.2 mm) compared to the control drug, piperacillin (25.8 mm – 13.4 mm). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MBC) of compounds 2b, 2d, 2e, and 2f were similarly found to be lower against the same organism. All the synthesised compounds demonstrated mild activity against the fungal specie, E. coli. This work has demonstrated the potential of the studied nitrile-containing compounds against the investigated bacterial and fungal species.