Biological evaluation of Schiff bases containing dopamine as antibacterial /antifungal and potential Anti COVID-19 agents: Design, synthesis, characterization, molecular docking studies, and ADME properties

In this study, Schiff bases containing dopamine were synthesized and their antimicrobial activities were investigated in vitro. What makes this study unique is the use of dopamine as a starting compound, which has not been previously explored for the synthesis of Schiff bases with acetophenone substituents. These newly synthesized compounds exhibit important pharmacological properties, and their structures have been thoroughly characterized using elemental analysis, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and FT-IR methods. In the next phase of the study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activities of these dopamine Schiff bases against seven different bacterial and fungal isolates. Remarkably, one compound, 5NO2-afdop, demonstrated exceptionally high antibacterial activity (MIC: 0.078 & mu;g/ml) against Gram-positive bacteria, namely Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermis. Its activity was even superior to that of the reference drugs sulfisoxazole and sulfamethoxazole (MIC: 0.312 & mu;g/ml). This finding highlights the potential of the synthesized compound as a promising antimicrobial agent. Moreover, in-silico studies, the 5NO2-afdop compound shows comparable activity against the major protease of SARS-CoV2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess the drug-likeness of all synthesized compounds, we employed the five Lipinski rules and conducted ADME predictions. These analyses provided valuable insights into the compounds' pharmacological profiles, suggesting their potential as drug candidates.. Additionally, molecular docking studies shed light on the interactions between the synthesized compounds and their target proteins. Notably, 5NO2-afdop exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against the S. aureus protein (PDB ID: 4FGD) and displayed promising antiviral activity against the SARS-CoV-2 major protease (PDB ID: 5R80). These docking results further support the potential of 5NO2-afdop as a dual-action compound with antibacterial and antiviral properties.