Chalcone-derived thiosemicarbazones and their zinc(II) and gallium(III) complexes: spectral studies and antimicrobial activity

Chalcone-derived 3-phenyl-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone (HPyCTPh) (1), 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone (HPyCT4ClPh) (2), 3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone (HPyCT4BrPh) (3), and 3-(4-nitrophenyl-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone (HPyCT4NO₂Ph) (4) were obtained as well as their gallium(III) and zinc(II) complexes Ga(PyCTPh)₂]NO₃ (Ga1), Ga(PyCT4ClPh)₂]NO₃ (Ga2), Ga(PyCT4BrPh)₂]NO₃ (Ga3), Ga(PyCT4NO₂Ph)₂]NO₃ (Ga4), Zn(PyCTPh)₂] (Zn1), Zn(PyCT4ClPh)₂] (Zn2), Zn(PyCT4BrPh)₂] (Zn3), and Zn(PyCT4NO₂Ph)₂] (Zn4). The chalcones, thiosemicarbazones, and zinc(II) complexes were not active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The thiosemicarbazones proved to be more active than the parent chalcones against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Coordination to zinc(II) resulted in activity improvement of most thiosemicarbazones against S. aureus. Coordination to gallium(III) significantly improved the antimicrobial activity of all thiosemicarbazones against the studied micro-organisms, suggesting this to be an effective strategy for antimicrobial activity enhancement.