Preparation and Characterization of Amino-Linked Heterocyclic Carbene Palladium, Gold, and Silver Complexes and Their Use as Anticancer Agents That Act by Triggering Apoptotic Cell Death

Transition metal complexes bearing amino linked N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) were prepared and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities in human cancer cells. The optimum antiproliferative activity, observed for the gold complex 3 in U-87 MG cells, was found to involve S-phase arrest of the cell cycle. The results indicate that 3 induces apoptosis through a p53-bak pathway, a finding that could serve as a new strategy to reduce the resistance of cancer cells to p53-induced apoptosis.