The Beauty of Gold: Knowledge of Mechanisms Leads to Different Applications of Organogold Compounds in Medicine and Catalysis

This review is aimed at providing a concise overview of the results obtained by our group in the field of organometallic chemistry of gold. Therefore, a selection of examples amongst the most extensively explored families of bioactive gold complexes — Au(I) N-heterocyclic carbenes and cyclometalated Au(III) compounds — is presented. Insights into the bio-inorganic mechanisms of reactivity of organogold compounds obtained by an integrated investigational approach, and knowledge of structure-activity relationships are discussed also in relation to novel applications of gold-based catalysts and metal-mediated transformations in aqueous environment.