The design of novel metal complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands that display biological activity is an active research field in organometallic chemistry. One of the possible approaches consists of the use of NHC ligands functionalized with a carbohydrate moiety. Two novel Au(I)-Au(I) dinuclear complexes were synthesized; they present a neutral structure with one bridging diNHC ligand, having one or both heterocyclic rings decorated with a carbohydrate functionality. With the symmetric diNHC ligand, the dicationic dinuclear complex bearing two bridging diNHC ligands was also synthesized. The study was completed by analyzing the antiproliferative properties of these complexes, which were compared to the activity displayed by similar mononuclear Au(I) complexes and by the analogous bimetallic Au(I)-Au(I) complex not functionalized with carbohydrates.
Keywords: N-heterocyclic carbene; bidentate ligands; cytotoxicity; gold complexes; oxidative addition.