Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of chalcone containing polystyrene

Abstract

Three different 4-propargyloxychalcones have been prepared starting from 4-propargyloxy benzaldehyde and chalcones with proper chemical transformation. Polystyrenes containing biologically active chalcone moiety in their structures have been successfully synthesised by the Click reaction from the 4-propargyloxychalones (terminal alkyne) and azido end-functional polystyrene (PS-N₃). All the desired products have been obtained with good yield and purity. The structure of the 4-propargyloxychalcones and the chalcone containing polystyrenes have been characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized 4-propargyloxychalcones their polystyrene derivatives have been evaluated against two bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative). The results reveal that the tested chalcones and their polystyrene derivatives have moderate antimicrobial activity.