Eco-Friendly Synthesis of a New Class of Pyridinium-Based Ionic Liquids with Attractive Antimicrobial Activity

The present study reports a green synthesis of a new family of ionic liquids (ILs) based on functionalized 4-dimethylaminopyridinium derivatives. The structures of 23 newly synthesized ILs (2-24) were confirmed by FT-IR, H-1-, C-13-, B-11-, F-19-, and P-31-NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity of all novel ILs was tested against a panel of bacteria and fungi. The results prove that all tested ILs are effective antibacterial and antifungal agents, especially 4-(dimethylamino)-1-(4-phenoxybutyl)pyridinium derivatives 5 and 19.