The synthesis and preliminary antibacterial screening of a novel organic ligand, Salicylaldehyde-3-aminobenzoic acid (SAB), and its metal complexes are reported in this study. SAB was synthesized through a simple condensation reaction between salicylaldehyde and 3-aminobenzoic acid. The complexes were prepared from SAB and salts of Fe2+ and Ni2+. Some physical characteristics such as colour and solubility were determined. Preliminary screening was also carried out using the disc diffusion method against a panel of clinically relevant bacterial strains, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Eschericha coli and Salmonella typhi. The result indicated that Fe2+-SAB and Ni2+-SAB showed varying zones of inhibition on the bacteria and exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity when compared to the free ligand. However, Fe2+-SAB showed no activity against Streptococcus pyogenes and Ni2+-SAB showed no activity against Eschericha coli. This suggests potential applications of Fe2+-SAB and Ni2+-SAB in the development of new antibacterial agents.

Keywords: SAB, Schiff bases, Ligands, Metal complexes.