Schiff bases of chitosan (CS) were prepared by reaction
of four
different heterocyclic compounds, namely, 1,3-dimethyl-2,4,6-trioxohexahydropyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde
(M1), 3-acetyl-2
H
-chromen-2-one (M2), 5-chloro-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1
H
-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde (M3), and 4-oxo-4
H
-chromene-3-carbaldehyde (M4), with CS using thermal and ultrasound
approaches. CS Schiff base formation was confirmed by using FT-IR,
XRD, and TGA. Characteristic data show that amino groups in chitosan
reacted with the functional group in the heterocyclic compound to
form the Schiff base. CS Schiff bases show thermal stability more
than pure CS. The antimicrobial activity of Schiff bases was tested
against +ve Gram bacteria and −ve Gram bacteria. The result
shows that Schiff bases prepared by temperature and ultrasound methods
possess high antimicrobial activity against +ve Gram bacteria and
−ve Gram bacteria; in comparison, Schiff bases produced by
the ultrasound method have higher antimicrobial activity. The Schiff
base (CSM4U), prepared by the ultrasound method by reaction of CS
with 4-oxo-4
H
-chromene-3-carbaldehyde, exhibited
higher antimicrobial activity than Gentamicin as an antibacterial
agent. The inhibition range caused by CSM4U was between 19 and 27
mm. Moreover, CSM4U also acted as an antifungal agent, causing an
inhibition zone of 21 mm for both
Candida albicans
and
Candida tropicalis
, which was
higher than that of Terbinafine.