Tuning structural dimensionalities of two new luminescent Cd(II) compounds: Different dicarboxylate coligands

From pipemidic acid molecular salts to metal complexes and BioMOFs using mechanochemistry

Mechanochemistry has proven to be an excellent sustainable, efficient and fast tool for the discovery of new crystal forms of old drugs.

M. Antunes A, André V. Bioactivity of Isostructural Hydrogen Bonding Frameworks Built from Pipemidic Acid Metal Complexes

We report herein three novel complexes whose design was based on the approach that consists of combining commercially available antibiotics with metals to attain different physicochemical properties and promote antimicrobial activity. Thus, new isostructural three-dimensional (3D) hydrogen bonding frameworks of pipemidic acid with manganese (II), zinc (II) and calcium (II) have been synthesised by mechanochemistry and are stable under shelf conditions. Notably, the antimicrobial activity of the compounds is maintained or even increased; in particular, the activity of the complexes is augmented against Escherichia coli, a representative of Gram-negative bacteria that have emerged as a major concern in drug resistance. Moreover, the synthesised compounds display similar general toxicity (Artemia salina model) levels to the original antibiotic, pipemidic acid. The increased antibacterial activity of the synthesised compounds, together with their appropriate toxicity levels, are promising outcomes.