Dinuclear gold(I) complexes with N-phosphanyl, N-heterocyclic carbene ligands: synthetic strategies, luminescence properties and anticancer activity

Dalton Trans. 2021 Oct 5;50(38):13554-13560. doi: 10.1039/d1dt02444b.

Abstract

A small library of dinuclear gold(I) complexes with the title ligands has been prepared, encompassing neutral, mono- and dicationic complexes. The luminescence properties of the complexes in the solid state have been evaluated, and it turns out that neutral and monocationic complexes not presenting a rigid metallamacrocyclic structure can exhibit rather strong emissions that extend towards the red region of the visible spectrum. The in vitro anticancer activity of the complexes has been also preliminarly evaluated; cytotoxicity seems to correlate with complex lipophilicity, whereas selectivity towards cancer cells can be apparently enhanced upon a judicious choice of the ligands.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Coordination Complexes / chemical synthesis
  • Coordination Complexes / chemistry*
  • Coordination Complexes / pharmacology
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • Methane / analogs & derivatives*
  • Methane / chemistry
  • Molecular Conformation

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Coordination Complexes
  • Ligands
  • carbene
  • Gold
  • Methane