Metal-based scaffolds of Schiff bases derived from naproxen: Synthesis, antibacterial activities, and molecular docking studies

We report here the synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial evaluation of transition metal complexes of Ni, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, and Cd (6a–f), using a Schiff base ligand (5) derived from naproxen (an anti-inflammatory drug) and 5-bromosalicylaldehyde by a series of reactions. The ligand and the synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Visible, FTIR, and XRD techniques. The ligand 5 behaves as a bidentate donor and coordinates with metals in square planar or tetrahedral fashion. In order to evaluate its bioactivity profile, we screened the Schiff base ligand and its metal complexes (6a–f) against different species of bacteria and the complexes were found to exhibit significant antibacterial activity. The complexes showed more potency against Bacillus subtilis as compared to the other species. Moreover, we modeled these complexes’ binding affinity against COX1 protein using computational docking.