• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.203-208
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• 2021

As part of our attempt to discover novel active compounds against multi-drug resistant pathogens, we hereby report two new complexes of iron(III) with formulae: [Fe(L₁)₂(H₂O)₂]Cl₃ and [Fe(L₁)₂(L₂)(H₂O)]Cl₂ where L₁ = 1,10-phenanthroline (C₁₂H₈N₂) and L₂ = guanide (C₅H₄N₅O^-). The synthesized complexes were characterized using spectroscopic analysis (ESI-MS, ICP-OES, FT-IR, and UV-Vis), cyclic voltammetry, CHN analysis, gravimetric chloride determination, melting point determination, and conductance measurement. Octahedral geometries are assigned to both complexes. In vitro antibacterial activity was tested on two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus epidermidis) and two Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacteria using the disc diffusion method. The complexes demonstrated appreciable activity against these pathogens. Interestingly, the [Fe(L₁)₂(L₂)(H₂O)]Cl₂ complex manifested a higher degree of inhibition against the drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria than the commercially available drug, namely erythromycin.