The use of Carbon Monoxide (CO) as a therapeutic agent has already been tested in human clinical trials. Pre-clinically, CO gas administration proved beneficial in animal models of various human diseases. However, the use of gaseous CO faces serious obstacles not the least being its well-known toxicity. To fully realise the promise of CO as a therapeutic agent, it is key to find novel avenues for CO delivery to diseased tissues in need of treatment, without concomitant formation of elevated, toxic blood levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) have the potential to constitute safe treatments if CO release in vivo can be controlled in a spatial and temporal manner. It has already been demonstrated in animals that CO-RMs can release CO and mimic the therapeutic effects of gaseous CO. While demonstrating the principle of treatment with CO-RMs, these first generation compounds are not suitable for human use. This tutorial review summarises the biological and chemical behaviour of CO, the current status of CO-RM development, and derives principles for the creation of the next generation of CO-RMs for clinical applications in humans.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is endogenously produced in the human body, mainly from the oxidation of heme catalyzed by heme oxygenase (HO) enzymes. The induction of HO and the consequent increase in CO production play important physiological roles in vasorelaxation and neurotransmission and in the immune system. The exogenous administration of CO gas and CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) has been shown to induce vascular effects and to alleviate hypoxia-reoxygenation injury of mammalian cells. In particular, due to its anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antiproliferative properties, CO inhibits ischemic-reperfusion injury and provides potent cytoprotective effects during organ and cell transplantation. In spite of these findings regarding the physiology and biology of mammals, nothing is known about the action of CO on bacteria. In the present work, we examined the effect of CO on bacterial cell proliferation. Cell growth experiments showed that CO caused the rapid death of the two pathogenic bacteria tested, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , particularly when delivered through organometallic CO-RMs. Of importance is the observation that the effectiveness of the CO-RMs was greater in near-anaerobic environments, as many pathogens are anaerobic organisms and pathogen colonization occurs in environments with low oxygen concentrations. Our results constitute the first evidence that CO can be utilized as an antimicrobial agent. We anticipate our results to be the starting point for the development of novel types of therapeutic drugs designed to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens, which are widespread and presently a major public health concern.

The ordered mesoporous silica MCM-41 was covalently grafted with (3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane. Chloro substitution by the anion [4-CH₂-4′-Me-2,2′-bipyridine]⁻ gave a ligand-silica containing ca. 0.3 mmol bipyridyl groups per gram. Powder X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis demonstrated that the textural characteristics of the support were preserved during the grafting experiments and that the channels remained accessible, despite sequential reductions in surface area, pore volume and pore size. The coupling reactions were monitored by ²⁹Si MAS NMR and ¹³C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy. Bipyridyl-functionalized MCM-41 exhibits a high encapsulating ability, as evidenced by its interaction with a dichloromethane solution of MoO₂Cl₂(THF)₂. A material with a metal loading of 8.3 mass% was obtained. Molybdenum K-edge EXAFS analysis could not substantiate the formation of a tethered complex of the type MoO₂Cl₂(N–N), but instead indicated the formation of unidentate-bridged entities of the type [O₂Mo–X–MoO₂] with a metal–metal separation of 3.28 Å. The molybdenum-containing MCM was active as a catalyst for the epoxidation of cyclooctene by tert-butyl hydroperoxide. However, this activity is due, at least in part, to leached molybdenum species in solution.