Electrosynthesis and screening of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazoles as potent and selective antifungal agents

The electrochemical oxidation of aldehyde-N-aroylhydrazone has been studied in the presence of NaClO4 as supporting electrolyte in MeOH solution using cyclic voltammetry and controlled potential electrolysis. The results indicate that intramolecular cyclization of aldehyde-N-aroylhydrazone has been successfully performed at a platinum electrode in an undivided cell with good yields of the corresponding 1,3,4-xadiazoles at ambient conditions. The reaction products were characterized by spectroscopic methods and a mechanism was deduced from voltammetry studies. The antifungal activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated on Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria solani, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. The results revealed that all the synthesized compounds have significant antifungal activity against the tested fungi. Among the synthesized derivatives 7b, 7d, 7g, 7h, 7i, 7j and 7r were found to be the most effective antifungal compounds.