Abstract Cooper(ii) complexes represent a promising group of compounds with antimicrobial and antifungal properties. In the present work, a series of Cu(ii) complexes containing the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, tolfenamic acid, mefenamic acid and flufenamic acid as their redox-cycling functionalities, and 1,10-phenanthroline as an intercalating component, has been studied. The antibacterial activities of all three complexes, [Cu(tolf-O,O′)2(phen)] (1), [Cu(mef-O,O′)2(phen)] (2) and [Cu(fluf-O,O′)2(phen)] (3), were tested against the prokaryotic model organisms Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and their antifungal activities were evaluated towards the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae). The antibacterial activity of both strains has been compared with the antibiotic Neomycin. The calculated IC50 values revealed slight differences in the antibacterial activities of the complexes in the order 1 ∼ 3 > 2. The most profound growth inhibition of E. coli was observed, at its highest concentration, for the complex 1, which contains chlorine atoms in the ligand environment. The trend obtained from IC50 values is generally in agreement with the determined MIC values. Similarly, the complex 1 showed the greatest growth inhibition of the yeast S. cerevisiae and the overall antifungal activities of the Cu(ii) complexes were found to follow the order 1 > 3 ≫ 2. However, for complex 2, even at the highest concentration tested (150 μM), a 50% decrease in yeast growth was not achieved. It appears that the most potent antimicrobial and antifungal Cu(ii) complexes are those containing halogenated NSAIDs. The mechanisms by which Cu(ii) complexes cause antibacterial and antifungal activities can be understood on the basis of redox-cycling reactions between cupric and cuprous species which lead to the formation of free radicals. The higher efficacy of the Cu(ii) complexes against bacterial cells may be due to an absence of membrane-protected nuclear DNA, meaning that on entering a cell, they can interact directly with its DNA. Contrastingly, for the complexes to interact with the DNA in yeast cells, they must first penetrate through the nuclear membrane.

中文翻译：

---

双功能铜 (ii) 复合物与非甾体抗炎药、氟芬那酸、甲芬那酸和托芬那酸以及 1,10-菲咯啉的抗微生物和抗真菌活性

摘要 Cooper(ii) 复合物代表了一组具有抗菌和抗真菌特性的有前途的化合物。在目前的工作中，一系列含有非甾体抗炎药托芬那酸、甲芬那酸和氟芬那酸作为其氧化还原循环功能，并以 1,10-菲咯啉作为嵌入组分的 Cu(ii) 配合物具有被研究过。所有三种复合物 [Cu(tolf-O,O')2(phen)] (1)、[Cu(mef-O,O')2(phen)] (2) 和 [Cu(fluf)] 的抗菌活性-O,O')2(phen)] (3)，针对原核模式生物大肠杆菌（E.coli）和金黄色葡萄球菌（S.aureus）进行了测试，并评估了它们对酵母酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）的抗真菌活性（酿酒酵母）。已将这两种菌株的抗菌活性与抗生素新霉素进行了比较。计算出的 IC50 值显示复合物的抗菌活性略有差异，顺序为 1 ∼ 3 > 2。在最高浓度下，复合物 1 对大肠杆菌的生长抑制作用最明显，其中含有氯原子配体环境。从 IC50 值获得的趋势通常与确定的 MIC 值一致。类似地，复合物 1 对酵母 S. cerevisiae 的生长抑制作用最大，并且发现 Cu(ii) 复合物的整体抗真菌活性遵循 1 > 3 ≫ 2 的顺序。然而，对于复合物 2，即使在最高的浓度测试 (150 μM)，酵母生长没有实现 50% 的下降。似乎最有效的抗微生物和抗真菌 Cu(ii) 复合物是那些含有卤化 NSAIDs 的复合物。Cu(ii) 复合物引起抗菌和抗真菌活性的机制可以基于铜和亚铜物种之间的氧化还原循环反应导致自由基的形成来理解。Cu(ii) 复合物对细菌细胞的更高功效可能是由于缺乏膜保护的核 DNA，这意味着在进入细胞时，它们可以直接与其 DNA 相互作用。相比之下，要使复合物与酵母细胞中的 DNA 相互作用，它们必须首先穿透核膜。Cu(ii) 复合物对细菌细胞的更高功效可能是由于缺乏膜保护的核 DNA，这意味着在进入细胞时，它们可以直接与其 DNA 相互作用。相比之下，要使复合物与酵母细胞中的 DNA 相互作用，它们必须首先穿透核膜。Cu(ii) 复合物对细菌细胞的更高功效可能是由于缺乏膜保护的核 DNA，这意味着在进入细胞时，它们可以直接与其 DNA 相互作用。相比之下，要使复合物与酵母细胞中的 DNA 相互作用，它们必须首先穿透核膜。