Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and antimicrobial studies of some metal complexes of 5-isopropylidene-1-methyl-2,4-dithiobiuret hydrochloride

The ligand 5-isopropylidene-1-methyl-2,4-dithiobiuret hydrochloride (HIMDTB .HCl) has been prepared by reacting 1-methyl-2,4-dithiobiuret with ethyl ch loroformate in the presence of acetone. New transition metal complexes of t he type Ni(IMDTB)(2), Co(IMDTB)(2).2H(2)O, [Cu(HIMDTB)Cl](2) and M(HIMDTB)S O4 [M = Zn(II) and Cd(II)] have been synthesized and characterized. Molar c onductance values revealed that the bivalent metal ions are non-ionic in DM F. The electronic spectra, FT-IR spectra and magnetic moments of the comple xes are suggestive of a square-planar geometry for Ni(II), octahedral geome try for Co(II), pseudotetrahedral stereochemistry for Cu(II) and charge tra nsfer for Zn(II) and Cd(II). The complexes have been characterized by physi cochemical and spectroscopic methods. They have been preliminarily examined for antibacterial and antifungal activities against selected microbial str ains and are found to be selective growth inhibitors of Staphylococcus aure us and Escherichia coli in particular.