Reviewing Gold(III) complexes as effective biological operators

Abstract

Cancer treatment using platinum has vastly been associated with numerous side effects and resistance generation. As a result, current medicinal chemistry is now emphasized on the development of novel metal based drugs bearing diverse pharmacological profile. There has been an increasing interest in the drafting of Au(III) complexes as new metal based drugs. Au(III) complexes have been observed to be especially steady under different physicochemical situations. Dithiocarbamato-Au(III) complexes show antiproliferative property against specific human tumor cells because of their inhibiting effect towards the tumor cell augmentation. The review focuses on the results obtained in the field of anticancer and antimicrobial efficacy of Au(III) complexes. The represented Au(III) complexes as anticancer agents have been classified as (a) complexes containing Au-N bonds, (b) complexes containing Au-S bonds and (c) complexes containing Au-O bonds. Au(III) complexes as antimicrobial agents have been subdivided as (a) antibacterial and antifungal (b) antimalarial and (c) antitrypanosomial Au(III) complexes. The results obtained from the analysis of anticancer and antimicrobial Au(III) complexes could possibly lead to the design and development of novel potent Au(III) complexes exhibiting enhanced activities.