Synthesis, antibacterial and antifungal activities of Schiff base rare earth metal complexes: a review of recent work

Schiff bases are useful pharmacophores and form stable complexes with various metal ions in different oxidation states. Schiff base metal complexes show various biological activities such as antioxidant, antimalarial, antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory. Schiff base ligands easily form complexes with rare earth metals and show various biological activities; due to paramagnetic nature of complexes, they are primarily used in medicine as a contrast media for magnetic resonance imaging. This review summarizes the synthesis of Schiff base rare earth metal complexes as well as antimicrobial activities especially antibacterial and antifungal from the last two decades and comparison of the result with standard reference drugs.