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Updated: Feb 5, 2026

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Reactivity of the [Au(C^N^C)Cl] complex in the presence of H
G Y Sánchez Delgado1, D Paschoal2, H F Dos Santos3
1NEQC: Núcleo de Estudos em Química Computacional, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário Martelos, Juiz De Fora, MG, 36036-900, Brazil.
Abstract:
Gold complexes are promising compounds used in cancer chemotherapy. Besides their steric features, which enable biomolecule interactions, the redox instability and the high affinity of gold with cellular nucleophiles influence the biological action in these complexes. Both features were herein theoretically investigated for the [Au(C^N^C)Cl] probe complex (C^N^C = 2,6-diphenylpyridine) using H2O, CH3SH/CH3S-, CH3Se- and meim-4-H (4-methylimidazole) as biomimetic nucleophiles. Based on the results, the lowest energy reaction path followed two consecutive steps: (1) chloride-exchange ([Formula: see text] = 4.14 × 107 M-1 s-1) and (2) reduction of the resulting Au(III) metabolite to the corresponding Au(I) analog with chelate ring-opening ([Formula: see text] =+0.15 V-data based on the reaction with CH3Se-). These findings bring new insights about the mechanism of the Au(III) complex/biomolecule interaction in the cell, which is responsible for triggering biological responses.
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