The antimicrobial activity of mononuclear ruthenium(II) complexes containing the dppz ligand

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Liu, Xuewen;Sun, Biyun;Kell, Ruby E.M.;Southam, Hannah M.;Butler, Jonathan A.;Li, Xin;Poole, Robert K.;Keene, F. Richard;Collins, J. Grant
Abstract

The cis-α isomer of [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ {dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine; bb7 = bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]-1,7-alkane} has been synthesised. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and the minimum bactericidal concentrations of [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ and its parent complex [Ru(phen)2(dppz)]2+ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) were determined against a range of bacteria. The results showed that both ruthenium complexes exhibited good activity against Gram-positive bacteria, but [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ showed at least eight-times better activity across the Gram-negative bacteria than [Ru(phen)2(dppz)]2+. Luminescence assays demonstrated that [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ accumulated in a Gram-negative bacterium to the same degree as in a Gram-positive species, while assays with liposomes showed that [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ interacted more strongly with membranes compared to the parent [Ru(phen)2(dppz)]2+ complex. The DNA binding affinity for [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ was determined to be 6.7 × 106 M-1. Although more toxic to eukaryotic cells than [Ru(phen)2(dppz)]2+, [Ru(bb7)(dppz)]2+ exhibited greater activity against bacteria than eukaryotic cells.

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ChemPlusChem

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83

ISBN/ISSN

2192-6506

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Pages Count

8

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Publisher

Wiley-VCH

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DOI

10.1002/cplu.201800042