NHC–Silver(I) Complexes as Chemical Nucleases; Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Antibacterial Studies

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A series ofN‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors, 1‐methoxylethyl‐3‐allylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (1), 1‐ethyl‐3‐allylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (2), and 1‐pentyl‐3‐allylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (3) were synthesized. These salts were treated with Ag2O to afford their corresponding mononuclear Ag(I)‐NHC complexes, namely 1‐methoxylethyl‐3‐allylimidazolium silver(I) hexafluorophosphate (4), 1‐ethyl‐3‐allylimidazolium silver(I) hexafluorophosphate (5), and 1‐pentyl‐3‐allylimidazolium silver(I) hexafluorophosphate (6), respectively. These compounds were characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopy techniques. Compounds4and5were structurally characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction, and their stability in solution was investigated and found to be acceptable for the antibacterial studies. These new NHC precursors and their respective Ag–NHC complexes were screened for their antibacterial activities againstStaphylococcus aureus(ATCC 12600) andEscherichia coli(ATCC 25922). Compounds1–3showed no inhibition, whereas4–6inhibited the growth of these bacteria. The nuclease activities of the reported compounds against plasmid DNA and RNA were assessed by gel electrophoresis, and the results indicate that complexes5and6can degrade both DNA and RNA in the absence of an oxidant.