A series of water-soluble silver(i) complexes of the type [Ag(MTZ)2X] [MTZ = 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazole (metronidazole drug); X = NO3(-), ClO4(-), CF3COO(-), BF4(-) and CH3SO3(-)] was synthesised by the reactions of various Ag(i) salts with metronidazole (MTZ). All the complexes were characterized by ESI-MS spectrometry, solution NMR ((1)H and (13)C) and IR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Further evidence for the formation and molecular structure of all the complexes was provided by X-ray single-crystal crystallography. The different counter ions affect the crystal packing of the complexes and thus have an impact on the final geometries. The antimicrobial activities of the complexes against two Gram-positive strains: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, three Gram-negative strains: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Proteus hauseri ATCC 13315 and yeast Candida albicans ATCC 10231 were evaluated and compared with antibacterial and antifungal properties of appropriate silver salts, metronidazole and silver sulfadiazine drugs. The newly synthesized compounds exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, better than the referenced silver sulfadiazine. The best active silver(i)-metronidazole complex contains a methanesulphonate counter-ion. Moreover, the complex inhibited the growth of yeast Candida albicans at a concentration 3-fold lower than that required for silver sulfadiazine. In addition, the complexes containing a tetrafluoroborate and a perchlorate as counter-ions were characterized as effective antibacterial agents against the tested Gram-negative bacteria.

Graphene oxide (GO) has recently captured tremendous attention, but only few functionalized graphene derivatives were used as fillers, and insightful studies dealing with the thermal, mechanical, and biological effects of graphene surface functionalization are currently missing in the literature. Herein, reduced graphene oxide (rGO), phosphorylated graphene oxide (PGO), and trimethylsilylated graphene oxide (SiMe3GO) were prepared by the post-modification of GO. The electrostatic interactions of these fillers with chitosan afforded colloidal solutions that provide, after water evaporation, transparent and flexible chitosan-modified graphene films. All reinforced chitosan–graphene films displayed improved mechanical, thermal, and antibacterial (S. aureus, E. coli) properties compared to native chitosan films. Hemolysis, intracellular catalase activity, and hemoglobin oxidation were also observed for these materials. This study shows that graphene functionalization provides a handle for tuning the properties of graphene-reinforced nanocomposite films and customizing their functionalities.

Poly(propylene imine) dendrimers have been investigated for their biological applications but their antibacterial activity has not been extensively explored. Thus, the fourth generation of poly(propylene imine) dendrimers (PPI-G4) and PPI dendrimers with a surface modified by attaching maltose in 25% and 100% (PPI-25%mG4 and PPI-100%mG4, respectively) was evaluated for the antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 and yeast Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Cytotoxicity of all tested dendrimers was checked on a Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line (B14), human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2), mouse neuroblastoma cell line (N2a) and rat liver cell line (BRL-3A). The obtained results indicate that studied nano-sized macromolecules possess the greatest antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. PPI G4 dendrimers modified with 25% of maltose display antibacterial activity and a striking selectivity toward S. aureus, at the concentrations, which are at the same time harmless for the eukaryotic cell lines. Moreover, at the higher concentrations of unmodified dendrimers efficient growth inhibition of S. epidermidis and C. albicans has been observed.

Some biological properties of eight dendrimers incorporating both phosphorus linkages and viologen units within their cascade structure or at the periphery were investigated for the first time. In particular cytotoxicity, hemotoxicity, and antimicrobial and antifungal activity of these new macromolecules were examined. Even if for example all these species exhibited good antimicrobial properties, it was demonstrated that their behavior strongly depends on several parameters as their size and molecular weight, the number of viologen units and the nature of the terminal groups.

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Selected aspects of the biological activity of a series of six nitrate silver(I) complexes with pyridine and (benz)imidazole derivatives were investigated. The present study evaluated the antibacterial activities of the complexes against three Gram-negative strains: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Proteus hauseri ATCC 13315. The results were compared with those of silver nitrate, a silver sulfadiazine drug and appropriate ligands. The most significant antibacterial properties were exerted by silver(I) complexes containing benzimidazole derivatives. The cytotoxic activity of the complexes was examined against B16 (murine melanoma) and 10T1/2 (murine fibroblasts) cells. All of the tested silver(I) compounds were not toxic to fibroblast cells in concentration inhibited cancer cell (B16) viability by 50%, which ranged between 2.44-28.65 µM. The molecular and crystal structure of silver(I) complex of 2,6-di(hydroxymethyl)pyridine was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The most important features of the crystal packing and intermolecular non-covalent interactions in the Ag(I) complex were quantified via Hirshfeld surface analysis.

Titanium dioxide coatings were prepared on Si wafers using the sol-gel method. Four different types of coatings with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized. The diameter and surface density of AgNPs were conditioned by the concentration of Ag + ions in the initial solution, time and UV illumination source. The bactericidal activity of AgNPs on the titanium dioxide coatings against the S. aureus strain were calculated as the percentage of the inhibition of bacterial growth after 24 hour incubation of microorganisms at 37 1C on TiO 2 coatings with AgNPs. Control samples were coated with titanium dioxide without AgNPs. We concluded that the titanium dioxide coatings modified with silver nanoparticles had a high antibacterial activity. Moreover, we demonstrated strong dependence between surface areas of AgNPs and inhibition of bacterial growth. The obtained results evidence that the surface area of AgNPs grown on titanium dioxide coatings is a major factor determining their antimicrobial potential.

The multifunctional profile of Zn2+ has influenced its great popularity in various pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic products. Despite the use of different inorganic and organic zinc derivatives, the search for new zinc-containing compounds with a safer skin profile still remains an open issue. The present paper describes the synthesis, structural characterization, and antibacterial activity of zinc(II) complexes with proteinogenic amino acids as potential candidates for dermatological treatments. The obtained complexes are of the general formula [Zn(AA)2], where AA represents an amino acid (L-Glu, Gly, L-His, L-Pro, L-Met, and L-Trp). Their synthesis was designed in such a way that the final bis(aminoacidate) zinc(II) complexes did not contain any counter-ions such as Cl−, NO3−, or SO42− that can cause some skin irritations. The chemical structure and composition of the compounds were identified by 1H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and four were also characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The Hirshfeld surface analysis for the Zn2+ metallic center helped to determine its coordination number and geometry for each complex. Finally, the antibacterial properties of the complexes were determined with respect to three Gram-positive strains, viz. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, and Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, and two Gram-negative bacteria, viz. Escherichia coli ATCC 25992 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and were compared with the activity of zinc 2-pirrolidone 5-carboxylate (ZnPCA), commonly applied in dermatology. It was found that the Zn(II) complexes with methionine and glycine exhibited a higher antibacterial activity than the tested standard, and the antimicrobial properties of complex with Trp were satisfactory. The results of the antimicrobial activity examination allow us to postulate that the obtained zinc complexes might become new active substances for use in dermatological products.