N-heterocyclic carbene-metal complexes as bio-organometallic antimicrobial and anticancer drugs, an update (2015-2020).

Abstract

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are organic compounds that typically mimic the chemical properties of phosphines. NHCs have made a significant impacton the field of coordination and organometallic chemistry because they are easy to prepare and handle and because oftheir versatility and stability. Importantly, the physicochemical properties of NHCs can be easily fine-tuned by simple variation of substituents on the nitrogen atoms. Over the past few years, various NHC-metal complexes have been extensively used as metal-based drug candidates and catalysts (homogeneous or heterogeneous) for various applications. To help assist future work with these compounds, this review provides a thorough reviewon the latest information involving some biomedical applications of NHC-metal complexes. Specifically, this articlefocuses on recent advances in the design, synthesis, characterizationand biomedical applications (e.g., antimicrobial and anticancer activity) of various NHC-metal complexes (metal: silver, gold, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridiumand platinum) covering work published from 2015 to 2020. It is hoped that the promising discoveries to date will help accelerate studies on the encouraging potential of NHC-metal complexes as a class of effective therapeutic agents.