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Gold(III) Complexes Containing N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand Serve as Dual Fluorescent Thiol “Switch-On” Probe and Anticancer Agent

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Anti-Cancer N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Gold(III), Gold(I) and Platinum(II)

Part of the book series: Springer Theses ((Springer Theses))

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Abstract

Cellular thiol level is associated with cellular redox balances that are linked up with various diseases such as cancers and AIDS [1–6]. Due to the high binding affinity toward thiols, soft metal ions and their complexes are usually utilized in the design of metal-based thiol probes as well as new anticancer drug leads which could specifically target thiol-/selenol-containing proteins/enzymes [7–11]. Au(I) is one kind of soft metal ions having high binding affinity toward-SH groups and can be generated by the reduction of Au(III) with thiols. Most reported Au(III) complexes are known to be readily reduced to Au(I) and/or Au(0) by cellular thiols (e.g., glutathione, GSH) [7, 12–14]. In view of the fact that Au(III) is 4-coordinated, whereas Au(I) is usually 2-coordinated, reduction of Au(III) to Au(I) is accompanied by the release of coordinated ligand(s).

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  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Taotao Zou

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Correspondence to Taotao Zou .

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Zou, T. (2016). Gold(III) Complexes Containing N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand Serve as Dual Fluorescent Thiol “Switch-On” Probe and Anticancer Agent. In: Anti-Cancer N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Gold(III), Gold(I) and Platinum(II). Springer Theses. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0657-9_3

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