Gold(I)-Coumarin-Caffeine-Based Complexes as New Potential Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Trackable Agents

Abstract

Three new gold(I)-coumarin-based trackable therapeutic complexes and two non-trackable analogues have been synthesised and fully characterised. They all display anti-proliferative properties on several types of cancer cell lines, including those of colon, breast, and prostate. Two complexes displayed significant anti-inflammatory effects; one displayed pro-inflammatory behaviour; this highlights the impact of the position of the fluorophore on the caffeine scaffold. Additionally, the three coumarin derivatives could be visualised in vitro by two-photon microscopy.

Keywords: antiproliferation; bioinorganic chemistry; cancer; gold; theranostics.