Synthesis of biologically active N-Benzyl-N-[(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)methyl]arylsulfonamides

A new series of N-benzyl-N-[(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)methyl]arylsulfonamides (5a-f) was synthesized by using (3,4- methylenedioxyphenyl)methylamine (1). Compound 1 on reaction with arylsulfonyl chlorides (2a-f) in a weak basic aqueous medium gave N-[(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)methyl]arylsulfonamides (3a-f), which were converted to target molecules 5a-f, by the reaction of 3a-f with electrophile, benzyl chloride (4) in the presence of LiH and N,N-dimethylformamide. All the synthesized molecules were characterized by IR, ¹H NMR and EIMS. Further, all the molecules were screened for the antibacterial activity and showed moderately good inhibition activity.