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 bioinorganic 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 metalmediated transformations in aqueous environment.