Novel Composite Plastics Containing Silver(I) Acylpyrazolonato Additives Display Potent Antimicrobial Activity by Contact

New silver(I) acylpyrazolonato derivatives display- ing a mononuclear, polynuclear, or ionic nature, as a function of the ancillary azole ligands used in the synthesis, have been fully characterized by thermal analysis, solution NMR spectroscopy, solid-state IR and NMR spectroscopies, and X- ray diffraction techniques. These derivatives have been em- bedded in polyethylene (PE) matrix, and the antimicrobial activity of the composite materials has been tested against three bacterial strains (E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus): Most of the composites show antimicrobial action compara- ble to PE embedded with AgNO3. Tests by contact and re- lease tests for specific migration of silver from PE composites clearly indicate that, at least in the case of the PE, for com- posites containing polynuclear silver(I) additives, the antimi- crobial action is exerted by contact, without release of silver ions. Moreover, PE composites can be re-used several times, displaying the same antimicrobial activity. Membrane perme- abilization studies and induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation tests confirm the disorganization of bacterial cell membranes. The cytotoxic effect, evaluated in CD34 + cells by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-di- phenyltetrazoliumbromide) and CFU (colony forming units) assays, indicates that the PE composites do not induce cytotoxicity in human cells. Studies of ecotoxicity, based on the test of Daphnia magna, confirm tolerability of the PE composites by higher organisms and exclude the release of Ag + ions in sufficient amounts to affect water environment.