Two Schiff base ligands L1 and L2 have been obtained by condensation of salicylaldehyde respectively with leucylalanine and glycylglycine then their complexes with Zn(II)were prepared and characterized by elemental analyses , conductivity measurement , IR and UV-Vis .The molar conductance measurement indicated that the Zn(II) complexes are 1:1 non-electrolytes. The IR data demonstrated that the tetradentate binding of the ligands L1 and L2 . The in vitro biological screening effect of the investigated compounds have been tested against the bacterial species Staphlococcus aureus, Escherichia coil , Klebsiella pneumaniae, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the disc diffusion method . A comparative study of inhibition values of the Schiff base ligands and their complexes indicated that the complexes exhibit higher antimicrobial activity than the free ligands . Zinc ions are proven to be essential for the growth-inhibitor effect. The extent of inhibition appeared to be strongly dependent on the initial cell density and on the growth medium .
