Designing of click-derived 1,2,3-triazoles as potential anti-bacterial agents and sensor towards Al(III) ion in aqueous medium

This work has incorporated the highly methodical Click approach for the synthesis of triazoles 5a-5d, which have been characterized by the spectroscopic techniques of 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectrometry. 5c and 5d have been crystallized via slow evaporation in methanol and their structural parameters have been determined via the crystallographic technique of single crystal XRD. Probe 5a has been studied for its UV–visible absorption behaviour, resulting in high specificity and sensitivity towards Al(III) ions. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of triazoles 5a-5d have been investigated and compared towards bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. [Display omitted] •1,2,3-triazoles appended compounds 5a-5d have been synthesized via Click approach.•Probe 5a was studied for the detection of Al(III) ion via UV–visible spectroscopy.•The limit of detection was found to be 0.08 × 10−7 M.•Anti-bacterial assay was performed and 5c best results against S. aureus.•Molecular docking was done to study the interaction between 5c and S. aureus. Aluminium is useful in various industrial applications and pharmaceuticals but its excess can pose serious health risks. There lies a need for the development of simple, cost-effective sensors for detection of Al(III) ion and the triazole appended moieties are potential chemosensors. Owing to these factors, we have utilized Click-approach for the synthesis of 1,2,3- triazole appended probe 5a that shows good selectivity and sensitivity towards Al(III) ion in UV–visible spectroscopy with an association constant value of 1.9 × 106 M−1 and limit of detection value of 0.08 × 10−7 M. The binding mechanism of synthesized receptor and Al(III) ion has studied via 1H NMR and DFT calculations. Keeping in view the biological activity of triazoles, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of triazoles 5a-5d have been investigated and compared towards bacterial strains E. coli and S. aureus, resulting in the lowest MIC value of 5c against the gram-positive S. aureus strain. The interaction between 5c and S. aureus protein has been studied using theoretical tool of molecular docking.