I2 catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of substituted anilines with ninhydrin: formation of novel products and their antimicrobial evaluation

Friedel-Crafts reaction of differently substituted anilines with ninhydrin in the presence of molecular iodine at ambient temperature constitutes a facile, cost effective, and regioselective synthesis of a series of 2-mono/2,2-bis-(amino-phenyl)-indane-1,3-dione derivatives. Under identical conditions, use of different substituents in aniline ring led to the formation of different products, emphasizing the pivotal role of the nature and position of the substituents in product formation. In vitro antimicrobial activity evaluation of the synthesized molecules against eight bacterial and four fungal strains revealed that four of them possess duel efficacies (bactericidal as well as fungicidal). The activities are attributed to the disruption of architecture of the microbes as revealed from ultrastructural studies (SEM).