2. Substituted Azobenzene Molecules with Antimicrobial Properties
Some azobenzenes exhibit intrinsic antimicrobial activity depending on the type and position of substituents on the aromatic rings. In the literature, there is a discrete number of papers reporting the synthesis and study of differently substituted azobenzene with antimicrobial and genotoxic for bacteria.
Piotto et al.
[34] have reported the synthesis of five new azo compounds with different substituents on the aromatic rings (
Figure 3). These compounds exhibit high antibacterial and antifungal activity against
C. albicans (MIC
0 = 15–30 μg/mL),
S. aureus (MIC
0 = 20–30 μg/mL)
, L. monocytogenes (MIC
0 = 25–60 μg/mL)
, S. typhimurium (MIC
0 > 60 μg/mL), and
P. aeruginosa (MIC
0 > 60 μg/mL); their antibacterial and antifungal activity is even higher than Resveratrol, a well-known natural antibiotic with a stilbene structure.
Figure 3.
Structure of antimicrobial azo compounds [34].
The same authors, in a later study
[35], have demonstrated that azobenzene compounds containing one or more hydroxyl groups -OH on the aromatic rings possess high antibacterial activity, particularly against
S. aureus and
L. monocytogenes with MICs
0 up to 8 µg/mL.
There are several works regarding the effect on antimicrobial properties of the different substituents, and their positions on the aromatic rings of azobenzene
[36,37,38,39,40][36][37][38][39][40]. An example was given by Ali et al.
[41]. They synthesized and studied three azo compounds, in which the NO
2 group occupies an
ortho,
meta or
para position with the -N=N- double bond on one of the two aromatic rings (
Figure 4).
Figure 4.
Nitro-substituted azobenzenes by Ali et al. [41].
In vitro antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the solid agar diffusion test, and the results showed high antimicrobial activity for the three azo dyes, superior to those of the antibiotics erythromycin and amoxicillin in the dual treatment of
S. aureus and
C. krusei. In particular, the molecule with the NO
2 group at the
meta position showed the most activity against
S. aureus (inhibition zone of 39 mm). In comparison, the molecule in which the group is present at the
ortho position showed the best activity against
C. krusei (inhibition zone of 42 mm).
Another example was provided by Eriskin et al.
[42]. In their work, the results showed that the different antimicrobial activity of a set of azo compounds with various substituents and in different positions is mainly due to the nature of the substituent in addition to the position (
Figure 5). Molecules with electron-withdrawing groups such as chlorine (compounds
d,
h) showed excellent antimicrobial activity against
S. aureus,
B. subtilis,
K. pneumoniae,
S. cerevisiae and
C. albicans, reporting MIC values up to 8.25 μg/mL. Compounds
b and
f, which have a nitro group in the
para and
meta position, respectively, were shown to be active against
S. aureus,
B. subtilis (MIC = 8.25 μg/mL).
Figure 5.
Azobenzene differently substituted by Erişkin et al. [42].
However, the mechanism of action of the tested compounds remains unstudied.
Since the bacterial membrane is negatively charged, molecules with positively charged groups, such as quaternary ammonium salts, can interact with the bacterial membrane, so they are included in conventional antibacterial drugs
[33].
Recently, in the field of modified azo molecules, amphiphilic azo compounds containing an ammonium-based cationic group, and alkyl chains with different lengths, have shown high antimicrobial activity
[43]. Silico studies have shown that the antimicrobial activity is due to the interaction of the polar head of the tested molecules with the bacterial membrane, promoted by the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in bacterial lipid membranes
[44]. Among the molecules with positively charged groups that demonstrated antibacterial activity, imidazole heterocyclic derivatives play a key role in many biological systems and processes that depend on the counter ion, polar head groups, and imidazole nitrogen substituents. Similarly, the presence of fluorine atoms can increase the selectivity and lipophilicity of molecules with increased antimicrobial activity
[45,46][45][46].
A recent work by Babamale et al.
[47] reports the synthesis and characterization of the antibacterial properties of fluorinated and non-fluorinated azobenzene derivatives, and azo imidazole molecules with alkyl chains (R), with different lengths linked to imidazole nitrogen (
Figure 6).
Figure 6.
Fluorinated and non-fluorinated azobenzene derivatives and azo imidazole molecules [47].
The compounds were tested against the gram-positive bacteria
S. aureus and gram-negative bacteria
E. coli,
S. enterica, and
S. Typhimurium, as well as against the yeasts
C. albicans and
S. cerevisiae, to evaluate their antimicrobial potential. Compounds
5,
6, and
7, proved to be selectively active against
S. aureus (inhibition zone of 11–14 mm), and their efficacy depends on the alkyl chain length (R) and fluorination level. In particular, the fluorinated compounds proved to be active against gram-positive bacteria, while the level of fluorination had no effect on gram-negative bacteria. Similarly, the azo imidazole molecules
11 and
12, which have alkyl (R) chains with 16 and 18 carbon atoms, showed antibacterial activity against gram-positive species (inhibition zone of 10–11 mm), but no activity against gram-negative bacteria. The different activity against the two bacterial species is mainly due to the complexity of the gram-negative cell wall.
Salta et al.
[48] described the antimicrobial activity of azo surfactants based on azobenzenes with polar groups of ammonium bromide and tobramycin (
Figure 7).
Figure 7.
Azobenzene compounds with ammonium and tobramycin polar heads (in red) from Salta et al. [48].
The different activity of the two isomers following photoisomerization of the azobenzene moiety is also studied. The type of polar head seems to play a key role in the different activities of the two isomers. Azo compounds in which the polar head is ammonium bromide show greater antimicrobial activity of the
trans isomer against
S. aureus (MIC
trans = 1 µg/mL, MIC
cis = 4 µg/mL) and
E. coli (MIC
trans = 8 µg/mL, MIC
cis = 16 µg/mL); while molecules in which the polar head is tobramycin show greater antimicrobial activity of the
cis form against
S. aureus (MIC
trans16 = µg/mL, MIC
cis = 4 µg/mL) and
E. coli (MIC
trans = 64 µg/mL, MIC
cis = 32 µg/mL).
The different antimicrobial activity of the two isomers is due to the different permeability effects of the membrane to the polar head.
Another study, by Velema
[49], also shows the change in antimicrobial activity following photoisomerization of azobenzene derivatives. Their molecules are based on quinolones, broad-spectra antibacterial agents. The antibacterial activity of quinolones derives from binding to DNA gyrase, a key enzyme in the DNA replication process. In addition, typical quinolones used for clinical applications are characterized by the presence of piperazine and fluorine atoms on the benzene ring, which give the molecules antimicrobial activity. In Velema’s study, the quinolone moiety is linked to a photo responsive azobenzene molecule, which replaces piperazine (
Figure 8). Azo-quinolone compounds with different substituents (methoxy-, methyl-, fluorine-) were synthesized and studied to investigate the effect of photoinduced isomerization of the azobenzene residue on antimicrobial properties.
Figure 8.
Chemical structure of azoquinolones from Velema [49].
The
cis isomer showed high antimicrobial activity, while the return to the
trans form causes a decrease in the activity of the tested molecules. The different antibacterial activity was observed in gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, indicating that the photosensitive quinolone retains its broad-spectra activity.
Molecule
2, with R
2 = Me and R
3 = OMe, shows a significant difference in antimicrobial activity between the two isomers against
E. coli (MIC
trans > 64 µg/mL, MIC
cis = 16 µg/mL) and
M. luteus (MIC
trans = 16 µg/mL, MIC
cis = 2 µg/mL).
In accordance with the previous study, further work on different antimicrobial activity following photoinduced isomerization was reported by Hu et al.
[50]. In their work, the authors report the antibacterial activity of a group of carbohydrate-based surfactants with variable monosaccharide heads, including
d-glucose (
AzoGlc), D-xylose (
AzoXyl),
l-rhamnose (
AzoRha), D-mannose (
AzoMan), N-acetyl glucosamine (
AzoGlcNAc), and
l-arabinopyranose (
AzoAra), linked to a hydrophobic
n-butyl-azobenzene moiety (
Figure 9).
Figure 9.
Photoreactive carbohydrate-based surfactants [50].
The antibacterial activity of the surfactants was evaluated by biofilm formation against
S. aureus,
P. aeruginosa, and by culture broth tests against
E. coli. The photoexcited
cis isomers showed to be more potent against
S. aureus, while the
trans isomers showed higher selectivity against
E. coli.
Kaur et al.
[25] report the synthesis of a series of diazenyl Schiff bases (
Figure 10) with different donor (-CH
3, -OCH
3, -SCH
3) and acceptor (-Br, -Cl, -F, -NO
2) substituents. The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of these compounds was studied on cell lines. Most of the synthesized compounds showed high activity against bacteria and fungi. The structure-activity relationship revealed the importance of electron-withdrawing groups on the aromatic ring of azobenzene. In particular, the presence of bromine or chlorine on the ring of the azobenzene moiety appears to increase the antimicrobial activity (MIC up to 35 µM/mL). Di-substituted compounds on the same ring were found to be more active than mono-halogenated derivatives, and this activity was further enhanced by the presence of a third halogen.
Figure 10.
Chemical structure of Schiff-base diazenyl compounds [25].
Similarly, Mkpenie et al.
[51] have shown that the presence of electron-withdrawing groups in the structure provides increased antimicrobial activity. The products, 4-((
E)-(4-methylphenyl) diazenyl)-2-[(4-nitrophenyl)imino]methyl))phenol (
ASBn) and 4-(((
E)-(4-methylphenyl)diazenyl))-2-((((4-methylphenyl)imino)methyl))phenol (
ASBm) (
Figure 11) were prepared by condensation of an azo-salicylaldehyde and
p-substituted aniline.
Figure 11.
Chemical structure of azo Schiff bases [51].
ASBn showed the best antimicrobial activity compared to
ASBm, reporting inhibition zones of 8–12 mm and MIC = 50–250 mg/mL. Gram-positive bacteria,
S. aureus and
S. agalactiae, were more sensitive than gram-negative bacteria such as
P. aeruginosa and
K. Pneumonia. It was suggested that gram-positive bacteria are more sensitive to the synthesized compounds than gram-negative bacteria, due to the different thickness of the cell walls.