Cyclometalated Gold(III) Complex Containing Dihydrolipoic Acid as a Platform Ligand

This work describes the development of a cyclometalated gold(III) complex containing dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) as a dithiolate ligand. α-Lipoic acid was reduced with tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) to generate DHLA, and the reaction conditions were optimized by monitoring with the DTNB assay. The formation of DHLA and its subsequent coordination to the gold(III) center were confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that DHLA is an effective dithiolate platform for stabilizing cyclometalated gold(III) complexes, supporting its potential application in the design of new metallodrugs. Future work will focus on further structural characterization of the complex and evaluation of its biological properties.