New (phosphine)- and (N-heterocyclic carbene)gold(I) halides and azides have been synthesized and characterized as starting materials for the synthesis of gold(I) alkynyls and triazoles. For the synthesis of the gold(I) alkynyls, a one-pot synthesis of a gold(I) halide and terminal alkyne in the presence of a base forms a gold(I) alkynyl that will precipitate out of solution. For the synthesis of the gold(I) triazoles, a gold(I) azide and a terminal alkyne form a [3+2] cycloaddition adduct having a gold-carbon bond. The triazolate complex precipitates out of solution. The methods has been extended to alkyne-functionalized poly(benzyl ether) dendrimers. All of these gold(I) materials have been synthesized as part of a broad research endeavor in medicinal gold chemistry.
Three gold(I) thiacrown ether macrocycles have been synthesized. The simplest gold(I) thiacrown ether, [Au([18]aneS6)][SbF6], has been crystallographically characterized, the structure shows that the gold(I) moiety is bound to four sulfur atoms. The synthesis for the other gold(I) monoaza-pentathia macrocycles involves a more complex procedure, with the final step being the gold(I) addition. The objective is gold(I) insertion opposite abasic lesions in duplex DNA.