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US4055655A
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US
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Complexes of heavy metal ions and polyfunctional organic ligands used as antimicrobial agents
Assignee: National Research Laboratories
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Filing: 1975-07-21
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Granted: 1977-10-25
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Expires: 1995-07-21
Abstract
Abstract Antimicrobial agents are disclosed containing as the active ingredient a metal complex of a metal ion and a polyfunctional organic ligand. The antimicrobial metal complexes are characterized by a very unexpected aqueous proton induced dissociation property which causes the controlled release of toxic metal ion at a pH compatible with microorganism growth. This dissociation property is represented by a sigmoidally shaped curve, i.e., one curved in two different directions like the letter "S," on a cartesian coordinate plot of the negative logarithm (log) of metal ion concentration versus the negative logarithm (log) of hydrogen ion concentration (or otherwise known as a pM-pH diagram). Antimicrobial metal complexes are also disclosed which are extremely effective in the controlled release of metal ion from the complex in about the normal range of physiological pH, i.e., about 10 - 4 to 10 -9 moles of hydrogen ion per liter.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerald L. Maurer
- 👤 Sudhir K. Shringarpurey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 18:51
CPC Classifications
C; C07; C07F; C07F1/00; C07F1/005; A; A01; A01N; A01N37/00; A01N37/36; A01N37/44; A01N57/00; A01N57/18; A01N57/20; C07C; C07C59/00; C07C59/235; C07C59/245; C07C59/265; C10; C10M; C10M173/00; C10M2201/00; C10M2201/02; C10M2207/00; C10M2207/10; C10M2207/12; C10M2207/121; C10M2207/123; C10M2207/125; C10M2207/129; C10M2207/22; C10M2207/28; C10M2207/287; C10M2207/289; C10M2207/40; C10M2207/404; C10M2209/00; C10M2209/10; C10M2209/103; C10M2209/104; C10M2215/00; C10M2215/02; C10M2215/04; C10M2215/042; C10M2215/08; C10M2215/082; C10M2215/24; C10M2215/28; C10M2219/00; C10M2219/04; C10M2219/042; C10M2219/044; C10M2223/00; C10M2223/02; C10M2223/04; C10M2223/042; C10M2225/00; C10M2225/02; C10M2227/00; C10M2227/09; C10N; C10N2010/00; C10N2010/02; C10N2010/04; C10N2010/08; C10N2010/10; C10N2010/12; C10N2010/14; C10N2010/16; C10N2040/00; C10N2040/20; C10N2040/22; C10N2040/24; C10N2040/241; C10N2040/242; C10N2040/243; C10N2040/244; C10N2040/245; C10N2040/246; C10N2040/247; C10N2050/00; C10N2050/01; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S516/00; Y10S516/01; Y10S516/02; Y10S516/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of controlling microbes in a medium cnducive to microbial growth which comprises contacting said microbes or said medium with an effective antimicrobial amount of a metal complex of a heavy metal ion and a polyfunctional organic ligand in a ratio of 1:1 of the metal ion to the ligand, said ligand selected from the group consisting of an organic acid and a substituted organic acid, said complex having an aqueous proton induced dissociation property represented by a sigmodially-shaped curve on a cartesian coordinate plot of the negative log of the metal ion concentration versus the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration, said dissociation property causing the controlled release of metal ions at a pH compatible with the viability of microbes in said medium.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of controlling microbes in a medium cnducive to microbial growth which comprises contacting said microbes or said medium with an effective antimicrobial amount of a metal complex of a heavy metal ion and a polyfunctional organic ligand in a ratio of 1:1 of the metal ion to the ligand, said ligand selected from the group consisting of an organic acid and a substituted organic acid, said complex having an aqueous proton induced dissociation property represented by a sigmodially-shaped curve on a cartesian coordinate plot of the negative log of the metal ion concentration versus the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration, said dissociation property causing the controlled release of metal ions at a pH compatible with the viability of microbes in said medium.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal ion is selected from the group consisting of zinc, nickel, chromium, bismuth, mercury, silver, copper, and cobalt.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said substituted organic acid is selected from the group consisting of hydroxy polycarboxylic, amino polycarboxylic, sulfhydro polycarboxylic, and phosphinol polycarboxylic.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said medium has a pH on the order of about 3 to about 12.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said pH is within the range of about 4 to about 9.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
10 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said pH is alkaline.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said pH is alkaline within the range of about 9 to about 12.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 7 wherein said complex is a dialkalimetal monoheavymetal chelate of an alpha-hydroxy polycarboxylic acid.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 8 wherein said chelate is a dialkalimetal monocopper(II) citrate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said chelate is in aqueous admixture.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said chelate is a solid.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the metal complex is a dialkalimetal monocopper (II) citrate complex.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 12 wherein the medium has an alkaline pH.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 12 wherein the pH range of the medium is from about 7 to about 9 and about 10% to about 0.1% of said copper ion in said complex is released within said range.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-10-24 | 1981-04-25 | 1981-10-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-10-24 | 1985-04-25 | 1985-10-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-10-24 | 1989-04-25 | 1989-10-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |