Thiophene-Derived Schiff Base Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Antimicrobial Properties, and Molecular Docking

Novel thiophene-derivedSchiff base ligand DE, where DE is (E)-N (1),N (1)-diethyl-N (2)-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)-ethane-1,2-diamine,and the corresponding M-(II) complexes, [M-(DE)-X-2] (M = Cu or Zn, X = Cl; M = Cd, X = Br), were prepared and structurallycharacterized. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the geometryaround the center of the M-(II) complexes, [Zn-(DE)-Cl-2] and [Cd-(DE)-Br-2], could be best describedas a distorted tetrahedral. In vitro antimicrobialscreening of DE and its corresponding M-(II) complexes, [M-(DE)-X-2], was performed. The complexes were morepotent and showed higher activities against Escherichiacoli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, fungi Candida albicans, and protozoa Leishmaniamajor compared to the ligand. Among the studied complexes, [Cd-(DE)-Br-2] exhibited the most promising antimicrobialactivity against all the tested microbes compared to its analogs.These results were further supported by molecular docking studies.We believe that these complexes may significantly contribute to theefficient designing of metal-derived agents to treat microbial infections.