Studies on Antibacterial Mechanisms of Copper Complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline and Amino Acid on Escherichia coli

The antibacterial mechanisms of Cu(phen)(2)Cl-2 center dot 6H(2)O, [Cu(phen)(Gly)(H2O)]Cl center dot 3H(2)O, [Cu(phen)(l-Ser)(H2O)Cl] (1,10-phenanthroline (phen)) on Escherichia coli were investigated. In the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy experiments, it showed that lipophilic phen ligand can cause elevation of intracellular copper, but intracellular copper is not the decisive factor. The UV-vis and gel electrophoresis experiments reveal that the DNA binding and cleavage activity are decisive factors for the antibacterial action of these compounds. It is revealed by the cyclic voltammetry experiments that the redox potential was bound to the cleave activity.