The copper(II) complexes [Cu(salH)(2)(H2O)(2)]. 0.5H(2)O (1) (salH(2) = sal
icylic acid) and [Cu-2(asp)(4)]. 3H(2)O (8) {aspH = acetylsalicylic acid (a
spirin)} both react with imidazole (imid), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and 2
,2'-bipyridine (bipy) giving [Cu(sal)(imid)] (2), [Cu(sal)(phen)] (3) and [
Cu(sal)(bipy)]. C2H5OH . H2O (4), CuCl2. 2H(2)O reacts with cis-5-norbomene
-eildo-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (norbH(2)) and NaOH giving [Cu(norb)]. H2O (9)
, Complexes 4 and 9 were crystallographically characterised. The above comp
lexes, together with the related manganese(II) complexes, [Mn-2(salH)(4)(H2
O)(4)] (5), [Mn(salH),(phen)] (6), [Mn(salH)(2)(bipy)]. H2O (7), [Mn(norb)H
2O] (11) and [Mn(norb)(phen)(2)]. C2H5OH . H2O (12) and also the metal-foe
ligands were screened for their ability to inhibit the growth of the pathog
enic yeast Candida albicans. I,0-Phenanthroline and the phenanthroline comp
lexes 6, 10b and 12 exhibited high anti-Candida activity with the manganese
complexes 6 and 12 being the most potent. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. A
ll rights reserved.