5-Nitroimidazole derivatives and their antimicrobial activity

5-nitroimidazole derivatives 2-8 were synthesized from secnidazole. the syntheses were accomplished in two steps which start from the oxidation of secnidazole to the secnidazolone 1. secnidazolone 1 was converted into its hydrazone derivative 2-8 by treating with different substituted acid hydrazide. compounds 2-8 were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria,compounds 3 and 4 showed the significant activity against staphylococcus epidermidis,however,compound 2 showed good inhibitions against corynebacterium diphtheria when compared with the standard. compound 3 showed good inhibitory potential against tested gram-negative bacterial strains i.e. enterobacter aerogene,escherichia coli,salmonella typhi,salmonella paratyphi a,shigella flexeneri and vibrio choleriae. all synthetic derivatives were also tested against eight fungal stains,however,they were weekly active against aspergillus flavus and candida albican. the synthesized compounds were characterized by different spectroscopy techniques. © 2016,chemical society of pakistan. all rights reserved.