Synthesis and antimicrobial activities of silver(I) sulfanylcarboxylates.: Structural isomers with identically or unequally coordinated Ag centers in an Ag4S4 ring

We have investigated the reactions of silver nitrate and 3-(aryl)-2-sulfanylpropenoic acids [H(2)xspa, x: p = 3-phenyl-, f = 3-(2-furyl)-, t = 3-(2-thienyl)-, py = 3-(2-pyridyl)-] and 2-cyclopentylidene-2-sulfanylacetic acid (H2L) in 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 molar ratios. The 1 : 1 molar ratio gave compounds of type [Ag(HL)]; reaction of these compounds with diisopropylamine and NaOH gave [ HQ][ Ag( L)] ( HQ = diisopropylammonium) and Na[Ag(L)]center dot H2O, respectively. These compounds, as well as those of type [Ag-2(L)] obtained with the 1 : 2 molar ratio, were isolated and characterized by IR and NMR (H-1 and C-13) spectroscopy. Ag-109 NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS spectrometry were also used in some cases. The crystal structures of [HQ][Ag(pspa)] (11), in which the presence of structural isomers was detected, and [HQ][Ag(cpa)] (15) were determined by X-ray diffractometry. The antimicrobial activity of the complexes against E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa/Resistant P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans was tested.