Synthesis, characterization, molecular docking, ADME study, and antimicrobial evaluation of new fenamate-isatin hybrids

Molecular hybridization produced six new derivatives by combining isatin analogues with two fenamic acid derivatives. These compounds were characterized using FT-IR and 1 H-NMR and tested for antimicrobial activity. Most of these compounds show potent activity compared to ciprofloxacin against gram-positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus pneumoniae , and Bacillus subtilis ) and gram-negative ( Neisseria gonorrheae , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Escherichia coli ). Additionally, they demonstrated a higher antifungal activity than fluconazole against Candida albicans . A molecular docking study was performed for all six hybrids with three proteins: E. coli DNA Gyrase B (PDB: 6H86), S. aureus (PDB: 2W9H), and CYP51 (PDB: 4WMZ). The results showed promising inhibition of the bacterial and fungal proteins. Furthermore, the ADME study predicted favorable drug-like properties for these compounds.