Short communication
Antibacterial properties of water-soluble gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2014.03.001Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Water soluble Au(I)–NHC complexes display antibacterial effects.

  • The antibacterial properties are comparable to that of AgNO3.

  • The activity of the complexes is higher than the activity of ligands.

Abstract

The antibacterial properties of water-soluble gold(I) complexes [1-methyl-3-(3-sulfonatopropyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]gold(I) chloride (C1), [1-mesityl-3-(3-sulfonatopropyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]gold(I) chloride (C2), [1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-3-(3-sulfonatopropyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]gold(I) chloride (C3) and [1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropyl-4-sodiumsulfonatophenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]gold(I) chloride (C4) and the respective ligands were assessed by agar diffusion and broth macrodilution methods against Gram-positives Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Micrococcus luteus and the Gram-negative bacteria Yersinia ruckeri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Viability after treatments was determined by direct plate count. The bactericidal activity displayed by C1 and C3 was comparable to that of AgNO3.

Graphical abstract

The antibacterial properties of water-soluble gold(I) complexes and the respective ligands were assessed against Gram-positives and Gram-negative bacteria. The bactericidal activity displayed was comparable to that of AgNO3.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by CONICET (PIP 11220110100828), CIC (N° 243/13), ANPCyT (Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, PICT 2012-1449), and Universidad Nacional del Sur (24/Q038), Bahía Blanca, Argentina. G.A.F. thanks CONICET for a research fellowship and M.S.V.G. for a postdoctoral fellowship.

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  • Cited by (0)

    1

    These authors contributed equally to this work.

    2

    Member of CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas).

    3

    Member of CIC (Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas).

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