Xanthine based N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018 Source:Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Author(s): Hugo Valdés, Daniel Canseco-González, Juan Manuel German-Acacio, David Morales-Morales N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes derived from xanthines have attracted much attention. Xanthines comprise a wide range of compounds, among which the best known are caffeine, theophylline and theobromine. Xanthine-NHC complexes have been used as catalysts, antimicrobial, anticancer agents and for their photoluminescent properties. The easy functionalization of xanthines along with their biological activity makes their metal derivatives excellent candidates for the development of novel metallodrugs. And depending of the metal other xanthine-NHC complexes are excellent catalysts for different important organic transformations. Thus, in this review, we summarized the synthesis and applications that xanthine-NHC metal complexes have found this far. Graphical abstract
Source: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research