Copper(II) mixed-ligand complexes containing 1, 10-phenanthroline, adenine and thymine: Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activities

Atakilt Abebe, Abreham Sendek, Silesh Ayalew and Mulugeta Kibret

Abstract

New copper complexes, [Cu(phen)2(Thy)]2Cl and [Cu(phen)2(Ad)]2Cl (phen = 1,10-phenantroline, Ad (Adenine, a purine nucleobase) and Thy (Thymine, a pyrimidine nucleobase)), were synthesized and characterized by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), conductivity measurement, UV-visible and infrared (IR) techniques. The complexes were tested for their antimicrobial activity against two gram positive and two gram negative bacterial strains. The results of in vitro  ntimicrobial activities were compared with the commercially available antimicrobial agents (ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol). This comparative study has demonstrated that [Cu(phen)2(Thy)]2Cl inhibited the growth of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureous (MRSA), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumonia) better than chloramphenicol by 11.25%, 19.41% and 25.35%, respectively. It also showed better activities than ciprofloxacine on MRSA and K. pneumoniae by 2.50% and 12.13%, respectively. Similarly, [Cu(phen)2(Ad)]2Cl demonstrated better inhibitions than chloramphenicol against MRSA, E. coli and K. pneumoniae by 11.24%, 2.48% and 9.06%, respectively. Therefore, after in vivo cytotoxicity investigations, these complexes could be considered as potential antimicrobial agents.