The present study utilised whole cell based phenotypic screening of thousands of diverse small molecules against H37Rv () and identified the cyclohexane-1,3-dione-based structures and as hits. The selected hit molecules were used for further synthesis and a library of 37 compounds under four families was synthesized for lead generation. Evaluation of the library against lead to the identification of three lead antituberculosis agents (, and). The most potential compound, 2-(((2-hydroxyphenyl)amino)methylene)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione () showed an MIC of 2.5 μg mL, which falls in the range of MICs values found for the known antituberculosis drugs ethambutol, streptomycin and levofloxacin. Additionally, this compound proved to be non-toxic (<20% inhibition at 50 μM concentration) against four human cell lines. Like first line antituberculosis drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin and pyrazinamide) this compound lacks activity against general Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and even against ; thereby reflecting its highly specific antituberculosis activity.

A general and robust strategy for regio‐ and chemoselective benzoylation of diols and polyols was developed under catalyst‐free reaction conditions. This approach is highly flexible in generating a diverse range of 1,2‐, 1,3‐, and 1,4‐monobenzoylated‐adducts in excellent yields without the involvement of expensive catalysts. Collectively, these results have implications in reducing the burden of cost and toxicity associated with the catalysts used in earlier methods.

An ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of 2-Aryl-2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazines and 3-aryl-2H-benzo[b] [1,4]thiazin-2-ones has been established by reacting phenacyl bromides with 2-aminophenol and 2-aminothiophenol, respectively. This approach fosters flexibility in generating a diverse range of 1,4-benzoxazines and 1,4-benzothiazinones under catalyst-free reaction conditions. Further scope toward the synthesis of rarely occurring bis-benzoxazine adduct has also been explored, which enabled us to propose the reaction mechanism.