Synthetic investigation, physicochemical characterization and antibacterial evaluation of ternary Bi(III) systems with hydroxycarboxylic acid and aromatic chelator substrates

Abstract

Due to its physical and chemical properties, bismuth (Bi(III)) is widely used in the treatment of several gastrointestinal and skin diseases, and infections caused by bacteria. Herein, its known antimicrobial potential was taken into consideration in the synthesis of two new hybrid ternary materials of Bi(III) with the physiological α-hydroxycarboxylic glycolic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), [Bi2(C2H2O3)2(C2H3O3)(NO3)]n. nH2O (1) and [Bi(C12H8N2)(NO3)4](C10H8N4) (2), aiming at improving its antibacterial properties. Their physicochemical characterization was carried out through elemental analysis, FT-IR, atomic absorption spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), photoluminescence, and 13C MAS-NMR techniques. The antimicrobial activity of the title complexes was directly linked to Bi(III) coordination environment and the incipient aqueous chemistry. For their antibacterial assessment, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), zone of inhibition (ZOI), and bacteriostatic-bacteriocidal activity were determined in various Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli and Xanthomonas campestris) bacterial cultures, in reference to a positive control (ampicillin), encompassing further comparisons with literature data. The findings reveal that the new hybrid bismuth materials have significant antimicrobial effects against the employed bacteria. Specifically, 2 exhibits better antimicrobial properties than free Bi(NO3)3 and phen. On the other hand, 1 is bacteriostatic toward four microorganisms except X. campestris, with 2 being bacteriocidal toward four microorganisms except B. cereus. Collectively, the new hybrid, well-defined, and two of the rarely crystallographically characterized Bi(III) materials a) exhibit properties reflecting their physicochemical nature and reactivity, and b) are expected to contribute to the development of efficient metallodrugs against drug-resistant bacterial infections.