Properties of Binuclear Rhodium(II) Complexes and Their Antibacterial Activity

Binuclear rhodium(II) complexes [Rh(2)Cl(2)(μ-OOCR)(2)(N-N)(2)], [Rh(2)(μ-OOCR)(2)(N-N)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](RCOO)(2) and [Rh(2)Cl(2)(μ-OOCCH(3))(terpy)(2)](H(3)O)Cl(2).9H(2)O (R = H, Me, Bu(n), ph, PhCHOH; N-N = 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dmp) and 6,7-dimethyl-2,3- di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline (dmpq); terpy 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine) have been synthesized and their structure and properties have been studied by electronic, IR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Antibacterial activity of these complexes against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli has been investigated. The most active antibacterial agents against S. aureus were [Rh(2)(OOCPh)(2)(phen)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2+), [Rh(2)(OOCPh)(2)(dmpq)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2+), [Rh(2)(OOCBu)(2)(phen)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) and [Rh(2)-(OOCBu)(2)(bpy)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) which were considerably more active than the appropriate nitrogen ligands. The complexes show rather low activity against E. coli.