Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Ru(II) coordination compounds of N-N bidentate chelators with 1,2,3 triazole and isoquinoline subunits: Synthesis,
Nicholas W Kreofsky1, Maxwell D Dillenburg1, Eric M Villa1
1Department of Chemistry, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, U.S.A.
Abstract:
Bidentate chelators 1-(1-benzyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)isoquinoline and 3-(1-benzyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)isoquinoline were prepared from benzyl bromide and trimethylsilylethynylisoquinoline precursors using a tandem deprotection/substitution/CuAAC synthetic approach. Each chelator is capable of forming a stable 3:1 Ru(II) coordination compound, which forms as a geometric isomer mixture. These Ru(II) complexes possess unique MLCT absorbance signatures at 450/472 nm (1-isomer) and 367 nm (3-isomer) relative to their constituent chelating units. Minimum inhibitory concentration values as low as 0.4 μM are observed for Ru(II) complexes against representative Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Comparing the MIC values of these isoquinoline compounds with analogous 2-(1-benzyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine compounds shows a 2.5- to 40-fold improvement in potency. This study establishes that increased hydrophobicity introduced at the central chelating units of Ru(II) coordination compounds can be a useful means by which to optimize antimicrobial activity that is complimentary to the variation of peripheral substituent identity at the chelator's N1 triazole position.
Related Concept Videos
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can...
Coordination Number and Geometry
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Valence Bond Theory
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...

