Fabrication of a novel nontoxic trichlorophenol-epichlorohydrin-based compound with high antimicrobial activity and thermal stability

Abstract

The aim of this study was to modify a discontinued, toxic antiseptic agent 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (TCP) by reacting it with epichlorohydrin (ECH) to obtain a nontoxic novel compound with similar antimicrobial effectiveness. A novel compound named {[1,3-bis(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy) propan-2-yl] oxy}-3-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy) hexan-2-ol (TPTH) was synthesized from this reaction. Chemical and physical structures of the product were characterized by FTIR, MS, Uv-vis, NMR, SEM and TEM. The thermal stability of TPTH was evaluated by conducting thermogravimetric analysis. Biological interactions of the compound were investigated by performing antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity assays. The compound displayed a good antimicrobial activity where minimum inhibitor concentrations were found to be 0.02, 0.08, and 0.15 mu g mL(-1)againstStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus),Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) andEscherichia coli(E. coli) respectively. Additionally, well diffusion assay demonstrated that, the zone of inhibitions forS. aureus,MRSA andE. coliwere 24 mm, 22 mm and 18 mm, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay results revealed that TPTH is nontoxic against cells at effective anti-microbial concentrations. TPTH shows thermal stability up to 220 degrees C. Results here demonstrate the successful conversion of toxic TCP to a nontoxic form; TPTH with a good anti-microbial activity and thermal stability.