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Studies on Antibacterial Mechanisms of Copper Complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline and Amino Acid on Escherichia coli

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Abstract

The antibacterial mechanisms of Cu(phen)2Cl2·6H2O, [Cu(phen)(Gly)(H2O)]Cl·3H2O, [Cu(phen)(l-Ser)(H2O)Cl] (1,10-phenanthroline (phen)) on Escherichia coli were investigated. In the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy experiments, it showed that lipophilic phen ligand can cause elevation of intracellular copper, but intracellular copper is not the decisive factor. The UV–vis and gel electrophoresis experiments reveal that the DNA binding and cleavage activity are decisive factors for the antibacterial action of these compounds. It is revealed by the cyclic voltammetry experiments that the redox potential was bound to the cleave activity.

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Acknowledgment

This research is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2012-Ia-022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Liu, Xi Li, Zhijun Zhang, Yulin Dong & Peng Liu

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Chaocan Zhang

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  1. Xin Liu
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  2. Xi Li
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  3. Zhijun Zhang
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  4. Yulin Dong
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  5. Peng Liu
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Correspondence to Xi Li or Chaocan Zhang.

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Liu, X., Li, X., Zhang, Z. et al. Studies on Antibacterial Mechanisms of Copper Complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline and Amino Acid on Escherichia coli . Biol Trace Elem Res 154, 150–155 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-013-9707-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-013-9707-7

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