Copper(I) halide and palladium(II) chloride complexes with tricyclic monastrol analogs containing the oxadiazocine ring have been synthesized and studied. The structures of the complexes were investigated with IR, NMR and UV spectroscopy. Two complexes, [Cu(L¹)₂Cl] and [Pd(L¹)₂Cl₂], were structurally characterized by X-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction respectively. All the obtained coordination compounds were mononuclear. The ligands were coordinated with copper(I) and palladium(II) only via the soft sulfur atoms of thiocarbamide fragments, while the harder nitrogen and oxygen atoms remained uncoordinated. The palladium center was coordinated by two Cl ions and two S atoms from two 4-thioxo[1,3,5]oxadiazocine ligands in a distorted square-planar geometry. Copper(I) formed a trigonal planar geometry. The complexes demonstrated significant antibacterial activity towards the Escherichia coli K12 TG 1 bacterial strain in contrast to the free ligands, which didn’t show any noticeable activity.

Copper(I) and palladium(II) complexes containing 5-acetyl-6-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-2-thione (L¹), ethyl 4,6-dimethyl-2-thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate (L²), cis-5-acetyl-6-ethyl-5,6-dihydro-2-thiouracil (L³), and 5,6-dihydro-2-thiouracil (L⁴) have been synthesized. All complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. To assign bands in the IR spectra of L¹ and L² and complexes with Cu(I) and Pd(II), deuterium substitution of movable protons at N-atoms was used. The crystal structures of two compounds, [Cu(L²)₂Cl] and [Pd(L⁴)₂Cl₂], were determined by X-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction, respectively. In [Cu(L²)₂Cl], copper has a rare coordination number of three and triangular surrounding of two neutral L² molecules, coordinated through sulfurs, and chloride. In [Pd(L⁴)₂Cl₂], palladium has a standard square-planar geometry, formed by two uracil molecules and two chlorides. A new method for the synthesis of 5,6-dihydro-2-thiouracil, starting from β-aminopropionic acid, was suggested.

Over the past decades, the problem of bacterial resistance to most antibiotics has become a serious threat to patients’ survival. Nevertheless, antibiotics of a novel class have not been approved since the 1980s. The development of antibiotic potentiators is an appealing alternative to the challenging process of searching for new antimicrobials. Production of H₂S—one of the leading defense mechanisms crucial for bacterial survival—can be influenced by the inhibition of relevant enzymes: bacterial cystathionine γ-lyase (bCSE), bacterial cystathionine β-synthase (bCBS), or 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MST). The first one makes the main contribution to H₂S generation. Herein, we present data on the synthesis, in silico analyses, and enzymatic and microbiological assays of novel bCSE inhibitors. Combined molecular docking and molecular dynamics analyses revealed a novel binding mode of these ligands to bCSE. Lead compound 2a manifested strong potentiating activity when applied in combination with some commonly used antibiotics against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The compound was found to have favorable in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity parameters. The high effectiveness and safety of compound 2a makes it a promising candidate for enhancing the activity of antibiotics against high-priority pathogens.