Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Complexes Containing Curcumin (C₂₁H₂₀O₆) and Study of their Anti-microbial Activities and DNA-binding Properties

Curcumin [1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione], was extracted form turmeric and also synthesized by the condensation of vanillin substituted by acetyl acetone. Its metal complexes (M = Eu, Ce, La, Y, Cr, Pd) were prepared and characterized by IR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The result shows that curcumin coordinates with metal ions in bidentate mode in deprotonated form. Anti-bacterial study of the synthesized complexes indicated that this complexes has anti-bacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli. The result of agarose gel electrophoresis suggested that the complexes had good interaction with genomic DNA.