Ten chalcogen and mercury bearing compounds based on 4-aminobenzoic acid (i.e., (2-amino-5-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl)mercury(II) chloride (1), (2-amino-5-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl) phenyl selenide (2), (2-amino-5-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenyl) phenyl telluride (3), (4-carboxyphenyl)mercury(II) chloride (4), 4-selenocyanatobenzoic acid (5), 4-tellurocyanatobenzoic acid (6), bis(4-carboxyphenyl) diselenide (7) bis(4-carboxyphenyl) ditelluride (8), bis(4-carboxyphenyl) selenide (9) bis(4-carboxyphenyl) telluride (10) were prepared and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. All compounds were screened for antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli by using the disk diffusion technique. The antibacterial activity of these compounds was dependent on the molecular structure of the compounds, and the bacterial strain under consideration.

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