Versatile coordination chemistry of mixed ligand silver(I) complexes of phosphanes and thioamides: Structural features and biological properties

Silver(I) complexes are of significant interest because of their potential use as an emerging class of antibiotics. This review presents a comprehensive account of the structural chemistry and biological applications of mixed ligand silver(I) complexes of phosphanes and thiones along with a brief description of the synthetic and spectroscopic aspects of the complexes. The effect of different ligands and counter ions on the structures of the complexes has been discussed. The X-ray structure analysis of these silver(I) complexes has revealed various structural types; including discrete mononuclear and dinuclear species, clusters, polymeric chains, and 3-dimensional networks. It has been observed that most of the complexes exist in mononuclear or dinuclear form, with silver atoms possessing distorted tetrahedral geometry. In rare cases Ag(I) adopts trigonal planar geometry. The multinuclear complexes often showed argentophilic (Ag-Ag) interactions. Some complexes were found to exhibit luminescent behavior. The antimicrobial and anticancer properties of the complexes are discussed in order to highlight their potential for therapeutic purposes.