Water‐Soluble Phosphanes Derived from 1,3,5‐Triaza‐7‐phosphaadamantane and Their Reactivity towards Gold(I) Complexes

Abstract

AbstractNew water‐soluble phosphanes derived from 1,3,5‐triaza‐7‐phosphaadamantane, namely, [PTA–R]Br (R = –CH2C≡CH, –CH2CONH2, –CH2COOH), are described. Coordination of these phosphanes and their previously reported counterparts (R = –CH2CN, –CH2Ph and –CH2COOMe) to gold(I) salts gives water‐soluble derivatives with chlorido, bromido or pentafluorophenyl coligands. The luminescence properties of all new compounds have been studied in the solid state and compared with the respective free PTA ligands. [PTA–CH2Ph]Br, [PTA–CH2COOMe]Br and [AuBr(PTA–CH2Ph)]Br have also been characterised by X‐ray diffraction analysis. Some of the new gold(I) compounds exhibit strong antiproliferative effects in the human ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780 and its cisplatin‐resistant variant (A2780cisR). A balanced relationship between lipophilicity and hydrophilicity is found in these derivatives, with distribution coefficients (log D7.4) that range from 0.14 to –0.40.