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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Gold Intercalated in the Walls of Mesoporous Silica
Published on: July 9, 2015
Reversible Covalent and Supramolecular Functionalization of Water-Soluble Gold(I) Complexes
Benedict Kemper1, Maximilian von Gröning1, Vanessa Lewe1,2
1Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
The ligation of gold(I) metalloamphiphiles with biomolecules is reported, using water-soluble AuI -N-alkynyl substituted maleimide complexes. For this purpose, two different polar ligands were applied: 1) a neutral, dendritic tetraethylene glycol-functionalized phosphane and 2) a charged, sulfonated N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). The retro Diels-Alder reaction of a furan-protected maleimide gold(I) complex, followed by cycloaddition with a diene-functionalized biotin under mild conditions leads to a novel gold(I) metalloamphiphile. The strong streptavidin-biotin binding affinity in buffered aqueous solution of the resulting biotin alkynyl gold(I) phosphane conjugate remains intact. The cytotoxicity of the biotinylated gold(I) complex against a T47D human breast cancer cell line is higher than for cisplatin.
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