Silyl-functionalised silver rhodium and iridium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes with promising cytotoxicity and antimicrobial potential

In the present study, we have synthesized Ag, Rh, and Ir complexes of a silyl-substituted NHC ligand in order to investigate their biological properties. Firstly, Ag-NHC (2) complex was synthesized by the interaction of Ag2O with benzimidazolium iodide (1). Rh-(3) and Ir-NHC (4) complexes were synthesized by the transmetalation reaction between Ag-NHC and [M(cod)Cl]2 (M = Rh or Ir) dimers. The complexes were characterised by NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses, and crystal structures of Rh-and Ir-NHC (3 and 4) were also reported. The cytotoxic effects of the complexes were tested on four human cancer cell lines and the antimicrobial activities of the complexes were tested against a panel of nine pathogenic microorganisms. The complexes performed com-parable or better activity than standards, cisplatin and AgNO3.