ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of 3,4-dimethoxy chalcone derivatives and their antibacterial activities

This study aims to develop a chalcone synthesis method using ultrasonic irradiation and evaluate its potential antibacterial activity. the synthesis of chalcone derivatives was carried out through the claisen–schmidt condensation reaction between 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde and three acetophenone derivatives (4-methoxy, 4-hydroxy, and 4-methylacetophenone) using ultrasonic irradiation as a reaction acceleration method. the use of ultrasonics has been demonstrated to enhance the effectiveness of synthesis compared to conventional methods, as evidenced by a significantly shorter reaction time, milder reaction conditions (without excessive heating), and reduced solvent usage. characterization of the product structure using ir spectroscopy, ¹h nmr, and ¹³c nmr revealed the successful synthesis of chalcones with high yields (75–85%), which are consistently better than those achieved by conventional methods. in addition to being energy and time-efficient, the ultrasonic approach also supports green chemistry principles by reducing the need for hazardous solvents. antibacterial activity testing using the agar diffusion method demonstrated that all synthesized chalcones exhibited significant activity against pathogenic bacteria, including staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli. these results reinforce the potential of chalcones as candidate antibacterial agents and demonstrate that ultrasonic irradiation not only improves synthesis efficiency but also produces compounds with promising bioactivity.