Nematicidal, Larvicidal and Antimicrobial Activities of Some New Mannich Base Imidazole Derivatives

Purpose: To synthesize Mannich base imidazole derivatives, and evaluate their antimicrobial, nematicidal and larvicidal properties . Methods: Compounds 1a-g and 2a-g were prepared using a Mannich condensation method. The chemical structures of compounds 2a-g were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (C-NMR), and mass spectrometry (MS) and elemental analyses. Compounds 1a-f and 2a-f were screened for antimicrobial properties using an agar diffusion method. The nematicidal activity of the compounds was evaluated against juvenile Meloidogyne javanica as test organism while larvicidal activity was assessed against the urban mosquito, Culex. Quinquefasciatus, using a standard bioassay protocol. Results: Compounds 1b, 1g, 2e and 2g were highly active against a few bacterial organisms compared with the reference antibacterial, ciprofloxacin while the antifungal activity of compound 2d was high compared with the reference, clotrimazole. Compounds 1c, 1e, 1g, and 2e showed high toxicity levels of larvicidal activity based their half maximal lethal dose (LD50) values. Compounds 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 2d and 2e were highly toxic to nematodes. Conclusion: Compounds 1b, 1g, 2e and 2g may be useful as lead molecules for the development of new classes of larvicidal, nematicidal and antimicrobial agents.