# Cobalt-based metallo-mesoionic carbene gold complexes with antiproliferative effects

## TL;DR

Scientists created new gold complexes with cobalt that show potential for fighting cancer and bacteria due to their unique chemical properties.

## Contribution

A new class of cobalt-based metallo-mesoionic carbene gold complexes with antiproliferative effects was synthesized and characterized.

## Key findings

- The new carbene has the highest HEP value reported for a mesoionic carbene, indicating strong electron donation.
- The complexes show low TEP values and electrochemical reducibility of the cobaltocenium moiety.
- The complexes inhibit cell growth in cancer cells and bacteria, suggesting medicinal potential.

## Abstract

We report the facile synthesis of new gold(i) carbene complexes based on a mesoionic cobaltocenylidene metallocarbene via a fluorinative desilylation reaction. The carbene has been characterized by a variety of spectroscopic methods, revealing that it has the highest HEP value reported for a MIC so far, suggesting that the carbene is highly electron donating. The properties of the new class of metallo-mesoionic carbenes is further investigated, revealing also exceptionally low TEP values. Electrochemical studies also suggest the cobaltocenium moiety to be further reducible. In addition, the cell growth inhibitory effects of the new metallocarbene complexes were explored in cancer cells and bacteria. The combination of electrochemical activity, exceptional electron donating properties and their putative application in medicinal chemistry makes these new metallo-MICs a highly interesting new class of ligands.

We report the facile synthesis of new gold(i) carbene complexes based on a mesoionic cobaltocenylidene metallocarbene via a fluorinative desilylation reaction.