Abstract
Recently, screening attempts for potential antimicrobial drugs based on metal-based compounds have shown an unpredictably high hit rate for some classes of organometallic compounds (9.9%) com-pared to some organic compounds (0.87%) submitted to the same assays. Herein, we report the influ-ence of the axial ligand (X = Cl and triazolate(COOC2H5,CF3)) on the antimicrobial activity of [Rh-2(X)(2)(eta(5)-C5Me5)(2)L](2+) (L = 1,1'-(Hexane-1,6-diyl)bis[2-(pyridin-2-yl)1H-benzimidazole]) against some bacterial and fungal pathogens as well as healthy cells. The compatibility with red blood cells was also examined. The stability of the compounds in presence of a model lysozyme protein was followed to gather insight into the activation profiles . Triazolate compound was prepared under a mild reaction via catalyst-free [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of azide analogue with 4,4,4-trifluoro-2-butynoic acid ethyl ester. While triazolate complex exhibited higher antifungal activity (MIC = 4.8-9.7 mu M) against C. neoformans than Fluconazole (MIC = 26.1 mu M), the chloro analogue dispalyed no activity towards the same microorganism. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.