Dinuclear Silver(I) Pyrazolates – IP 1851

Antibiotic resistance is currently an alarming issue andseveral health organizations throughout the World have already declaredbacterial resistance towards antibiotics as “catastrophic”. TheInfectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) has expressed significant concernon antibacterial resistance, in particular regarding the multi-drug resistantbacteria (MDR), which have been singled out as an imminent threat to US publichealth. These circumstances have prompted the research community in recentyears to focus on developing alternative chemotherapeutics to combatantibacterial resistance. FIU inventors have synthesized novel dinuclear silver(I)pyrazolido complexes that can be used for the treatment of microbial infectionsand for the growth inhibition and killing of microbes on surfaces or incompositions of matter such as food or cosmetics. Slow and sustainable delivery of Ag+ ions under aphysiological milieu by dissociation of the compound is crucial to itseffective antibacterial action, ensuring also that the Ag-based antimicrobialis not being overused, which might cause other undesirable side effects.Appropriately designed Ag(I) coordination complexes can meet these requirements;the introduction of specific ancillary ligands tunes the lability of Ag+ions and modulates water solubility, facilitating the cellular internalizationprocess of the therapeutics. Consequently, the latter exert more efficient antibacterialeffect in a lower dosage and accentuate the eradication process of thepathogens along with the concurrently released bioactive silver from therespective complexes without inadvertent side-effects. Anne Laure Schmitt Olivier aschmitt@fiu.edu 305-348-5948