Novel Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of 3‐Substituted 5‐bromo‐7‐methyl‐1,2,4‐triazolo‐[3,4‐ b ]‐benzothiazoles

4‐Methyl acetanilide ( 1 ) on treatment with bromine in acetic acid, followed by hydrolysis with dilute HCl/NaOH solution, yielded 2‐bromo‐4‐methyl aniline ( 2 ), which on treatment with sodium thiocyanate in acetic acid afforded 2‐amino‐4‐bromo‐6‐methyl benzothiazole ( 3 ). Compound 3 in ethylene glycol was heated at 150°C with 80% hydrazine hydrate to get 4‐bromo‐2‐hydrazino‐6‐methyl benzothiazole ( 4 ). This hydrazino compound 4 on heating with formic acid for 3 h yielded 4‐bromo‐2‐hydrazinoformyl‐6‐methyl benzothiazole ( 5 ). Same compound 4 when heated independently with formic acid for 6 h/urea for 3 h/carbon disulfide in alkali afforded 5‐bromo‐7‐methyl ( 6 )/5‐bromo‐3‐hydroxy‐7‐methyl ( 7 )/5‐bromo‐3‐mercapto‐7‐methyl ( 8 )‐1,2,4‐triazolo‐[3,4‐ b ]‐benzothiazoles, respectively. Compound 4 on heating with acetic acid/acetic anhydride gave acetyl benzothiazolyl derivative 9 , which on cyclization with orthophosphoric acid yielded 5‐bromo‐3,7‐dimethyl‐1,2,4‐triazolo‐[3,4‐ b ]‐benzothiazole ( 10 ). All these newly synthesized compounds were screened for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (Gram −ve), Bacillus subtilis (Gram +ve), Erwinia carotovora , and Xanthomonas citri using ampicillin, streptomycin, and penicillin as a standard for comparison.