Facile microwave-assisted synthesis and antitubercular evaluation of novel aziridine derivatives

•A new series of aziridine derivatives were designed and synthesized. .•Compounds were tested anti-TB activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (MTB H37Rv).•Compounds 5b, 5c, 5e, 12b, 12c showed potential activity against MTB H37Rv with encouraging MIC values.•Compounds 5b and 12b exhibited three-time better activity compared to standard drugs. Novel 2-(aryloxymethyl)aziridines and 2-((3-aryl-1-phenylallyloxy)methyl)aziridine derivatives were prepared via ring-opening reaction of epoxides. The synthesized derivatives were characterized by using elemental analysis (EA), FT-IR, 13C NMR, and 1H NMR. The in vitro antitubercular activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (MTB H37Rv) strain using MTT-MABA assay. All the aziridine derivatives exhibited improved persuasive antitubercular activity against MTB H37Rv in comparison with standard drugs. Among the tested compounds, 2-(naphthalene-1-yloxy) methyl aziridine (5b), 2-(naphthalene-2-yloxy)methylaziridine (5c), 2-(m-tolyloxymethyl)aziridine (5e), 2-(3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenylalloxy)methylaziridine (12b) and 2-(3-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-phenylallyloxy)methylaziridine (12c) revealed promising activity against MTB H37Rv. Specifically, compound 5b and 12 b showed three-times more active (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL) than the standard drugs ethambutol (MIC = 1.56 µg/mL) and ciprofloxacin (MIC = 1.56 µg/mL). [Display omitted]