'Silver bullets' in antimicrobial chemotherapy: Synthesis, characterisation and biological screening of some new Ag(I)-containing imidazole complexes

Simple synthetic routes are given to the Ag(I) complexes, [Ag-2(imH)(4)](salH)(2) (imH = imidazole; salH(2) = salicylic acid), (Ag[MeNO(2)imH)(2)]ClO4 center dot nH(2)O (MeNO(2)imH = 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole; n = 1, 3), [Ag(NO(2)im)] (NO(2)imH = 5-nitroimidazole) and [Ag-(apim)]ClO4 (apim =1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole). X-ray crystal structures of [Ag-2(imH)(4)](salH)(2), [Ag(MeNO(2)imH)(2)]ClO4 center dot H2O and [Ag(apim)]ClO4 were obtained. The new Ag(I) complexes and related known Ag(I) imidazolates were screened for their growth inhibitory effects (in vitro) against the pathogenic bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli and also the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. [Ag-2(imH)(4)](salH)(2), in comparison to the prescription drug silver sulfadiazine, had significantly better anti-bacterial qualities, whilst against the fungus C albicans it was 47 times more potent than the marketed drug ketoconazole. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.