Novel class of Bi(III) hydroxamato complexes: synthesis, urease inhibitory activity and activity against H-pylori

Reaction of Bi(NO3)(3) with benzohydroxamic acid (Bha) and salicylhydroxamic acid (Sha) gives the novel Bi(III) complexes [Bi-2(Bha-(1H))(2)(mu-Bha-(1H))(2)(eta(2)-NO3)(2)] (1) and [Bi-6(CH3OH)(2)(eta(1)-NO3)(2)(eta(2)-NO3)(OH2)(2)(Sha-(1H))(12)] (NO3)(2) (2). X-ray crystal structure of 1 reveals two hydroxamato coordination modes; bidentate bridging (O, O') and bidentate non-bridging (O, O') and of 2 reveals one coordination mode; bidentate bridging (O, O'). 1, specifically designed to and demonstrated to inhibit the activity of urease, exhibits excellent antibacterial activity against three strains of Helicobacter pylori with MIC >= 16 mu g mL(-1).