The antimicrobial properties of Pd(II)- and Ru(II)-pyta complexes

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.