Oxinobactin, a siderophore analogue to enterobactin but possessing 8-hydroxyquinoline instead of catechol complexing subunits, has been synthesized starting from l-serine and 8- hydroxyquinoline. Comparative iron binding studies showed that oxinobactin is as effective as enterobactin for the complexation of FeIII at physiological pH but with improved complexing ability at acidic pH.
