Abstract

Mixed ligand metal complexes of chloramphenicol and oxytetracycline were prepared by using Ni(II), Co(II) and Fe(III) metal chloride hexahydrate. They were characterized based on some physical technique and spectroscopic analysis such as AAS, UV, and IR spectroscopy. Based on the analytical and spectroscopic data, the complexes were proposed to have the formulae [ML₁L₂](Cl)_n (where M = Ni(II), Co(II), Fe(III); L₁ = chloramphenicol, L₂ = oxytetracycline  and n = 2 - 3). IR spectra suggested that both L₁ and L₂ coordinated to the metal ions in a terdentate manner with ν(O-H), ν(C=O) and ν(N-H) as donor sites in each of the ligands. The complexes were proposed to be of octahedral. The synthesized complexes, in compares to their ligands, were screened for their antibacterial activity against isolated strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia by using diffusion method. The activity data showed the metal complexes to be more potent antibacterial than the parent drugs against the three species. Toxicology tests against some tissues of albino rat (Rattus novergicuss) revealed toxicity of the complexes as compared to the parent drugs. Ni(II) complex was found to possess no significant difference (P > 0.05) in alkaline phosphatase from both homogenates of liver and kidney and rat serum. However, Co(II) and Fe(III)  complexes were found to significantly increase (P < 0.05) alkaline phosphatase from homogenates of liver and kidney tissues of the tested doses but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in alkaline phosphatase from rat serum.

Key words: Metal complexes, complexation, antibiotics, antimicrobial properties, alkaline phosphatase.