Formation of benzoxanthenones and benzochromenones via cerium-impregnated-MCM-41 catalyzed, solvent-free, three-component reaction and their biological evaluation as anti-microbial agents

• Multicomponent reactions are powerful tools in modern drug discovery processes.
• Ce-MCM-41 has large specific surface area and good textural properties.
• Xanthenones have wide range of biological and therapeutic properties.
• Eco-compatibility and solvent-free protocols are added advantages of the reaction.

We report here, three-component condensation reaction of naphthols, aldehydes and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds catalyzed by Ce-MCM-41 under solvent-free conditions. Several advantages can be perceived using this eco-friendly protocol such as, a green and cost-effective procedure with excellent yield, shorter reaction time, simpler work-up, recovery and reusability of solid acid heterogeneous catalyst and tolerance towards a wide range of functional groups. We also report here the anti-microbial activities of the new compounds. Particularly, it was found that the new compounds have shown promising effect on Pseudomonal infections.

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