Considerations in Platinum and Gold Drug Design and the Synthesis of Chloro(2,3-Diphenyl-1,3,4-Thiadiazolium-5-Thiolato-S(exo))Gold(I): The First Gold Meso-Ionic Complex of Its Kind

It is evident that the chemistry of platinum is in a more advanced state than that of gold, mainly due to the success of the former in several anti-cancer drugs. With a view to finding possible, new candidates with chemotherapeutic potential, the use of sulphur-donor ligands bonded to platinum and gold is discussed herein in an attempt to promote the need to investigate similar ligands. Chloro(2,3-diphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolium-5-thiolato-S(exo))gold(I) has been synthesised using a standard reaction, whereby Au(III) is initially reduced to Au(I) then reacted with the ligand, 2,3-diphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolium-5-thiolate.hydrochloride, isolated and finally characterised by elemental analyses and infrared spectroscopy. The compound is the first example of gold attached to a meso-ionic compound. It has also been tested for anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity and shown to possess moderate activity against Gram-positive bacteria, although is inactive against, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi.