The Antimicrobial Properties of Pd^II− and Ru^II−pyta Complexes**

Abstract

Infections associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are poised to become the leading cause of death in the next few decades, a scenario that can be ascribed to two phenomena: antibiotic over‐prescription and a lack of antibiotic drug development. The crowd‐sourced initiative CO‐ADD has been testing research compounds contributed by researchers around the world to find new antimicrobials to combat AMR, and during this campaign has found that metallodrugs might be a promising, yet untapped source. To this end, we submitted 18 Pd(II) and Ru(II) – pyridyl‐1,2,3‐triazolyl complexes which were developed as catalysts for their antimicrobial properties. It was found that the Pd‐complexes possessed potent antifungal activity, especially Pd1, with MICs between 0.06 – 0.125 µg/mL against C. glabrata. The in vitro studies were extended to in vivo studies in G. mellonella larvae where it was established that the compounds were non‐toxic. Here we effectively demonstrate the potential of Pd(II)‐pyta complexes as antifungal agents.