Syntheses, characterizations, and antimicrobial activities of binuclear ruthenium(III) complexes containing 2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives.

Binuclear ruthenium(III) complexes [RuX3L]2 · nH2O (X = Cl, L = L1, L2, L3; n = 1, L4 and L5, X = Br; L = L3), [RuX3L1.5]2 · nH2O (X = Br, L = L1; n = 0, L4; n = 6 and L5; n = 10), and [RuX3L2]2 (X = Br, L = L2) have been isolated by treatment of hydrated RuX3 (X = Cl/Br) in acetone with 2-(2′-aminophenylbenzimidazole) (L1), 2-(3′-aminophenylbenzimidazole) (L2), 2-[(3′-N-salicylidinephenyl)benzimidazole] (L3), 2-(3′-pyridylbenzimidazole) (L4), and 2-(4′-pyridylbenzimidazole) (L5) in acetone. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR, electronic, EPR, and mass spectral studies. The complexes were dimeric; based on analytical and spectral studies, an octahedral geometry was proposed for the complexes. The synthesized complexes were screened against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]