Design, synthesis and antibacterial activity of isatin derivatives as FtsZ inhibitors

• The crystal structures of isatin derivatives have not been reported so far.
• The biological activities of the title compounds are also evaluated for antibacterial activity.
• Docking simulations have been performed to position compounds into the FtsZ active site.

Seven isatin derivatives have been designed, and their chemical structures were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, 1H NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. Structural stabilization followed by intramolecular as well as intermolecular H-bonds makes these molecules as perfect examples in molecular recognition with self-complementary donor and acceptor units within a single molecule. These compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial activities. Docking simulations have been performed to position compounds into the FtsZ active site to determine their probable binding models. All of the compounds exhibited better antibacterial activities. Interestingly, compound 5c and 5d exhibited better antibacterial activities with IC50 values of 0.03 and 0.05 μmol/mL against Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Compound 5g displays antibacterial activity with IC50 values of 0.672 and 0.830 μmol/mL against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively.