Synthesis and biological evaluation of new N-(2-hydroxy-4(or 5)-nitro/aminophenyl)benzamides and phenylacetamides as antimicrobial agents Original Research Article

A new series of N-(2-hydroxy-4(or 5)-nitro/aminophenyl)benzamide and phenylacetamide derivatives (1a–1n, 2a–2n) were synthesized and evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and their drug-resistant isolate. Microbiological results indicated that the compounds possessed a broad spectrum of activity against the tested microorganisms at MIC values between 500 and 1.95 μg/ml. Benzamide derivative 1d exhibited the greatest activity with MIC values of 1.95, 3.9, and 7.8 μg/ml against drug-resistant B. subtilis, B. subtilis, and S. aureus, respectively.