The “ golden era ” of carbenes: synthesis and chemistry of coinage metals N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes as anticancer drugs

In the present thesis the anticancer applications of copper, silver and gold metal NHC complexes are summarized. Specifically, azolium precursors and related Cu(I)-, Ag(I)-, Au(I)- and Au(III)-NHC complexes of functionalized and non-functionalized imidazole-, triazole-, benzimidazole- and pyrazolebased NHC systems employed in anticancer applications are reviewed. An overview of the most relevant chemical features is presented and coinage metals NHCs complexes used as anticancer drugs are given together with the description of structure-activity relationships as far as possible .In addition I report the synthesis and biological activity of novel ester- and amide-functionalized imidazolium salts and related water-soluble coinage metal N-heterocyclic carbene complexes.[...] As future development of this PhD work, novel copper(I) NHCs will be developed and their antiproliferative activity will be investigated.