Abstract In an effort to develop novel antimicrobial agents, 3-(4-methoxy)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one was synthesized from acetophenone and methoxybenzaldehyde using the conventional Claisen-Schmidt condensation and microwave assisted methods. The conventional Claisen-Schmidt condensation afforded a yield of 35.29% in three hours. Whereas, the microwave assisted method gave 73.94% yield of 3-(4-methoxy)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one with two minutes. The synthesized 3-(4-methoxy)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one was characterized by means of Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Shinoda’s test and melting point analysis. The antibacterial activity of 3-(4-methoxy)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one was tested using the cup plate method, and was found to have no activity against the organisms tested at the doses used.
Keywords 3-(4-methoxy)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one, antimicrobial activity, synthesis, characterization, Claisen-Schmidt condensation, microwave.