The E. coli Siderophores Enterobactin and Salmochelin Form Six‐Coordinate Silicon Complexes at Physiological pH

Not limited to iron: The high affinity of the bacterial iron siderophores enterobactin and salmochelin for Fe3+ ions, which are bound through chelating catecholate groups, is well known. These two siderophores have now been found to also bind silicon ions with high affinity, giving the first examples of silicon complexes of natural products stable under physiological conditions.