Rationally Designed Redox-Active Au(I) N‑Heterocyclic Carbene: An Immunogenic Cell Death Inducer

Immunogenic
cell death (ICD) is a way of reengaging the tumor-specific
immune system. ICD can be induced by treatment with chemotherapeutics.
However, only a limited number of drugs and other treatment modalities
have been shown to elicit the biomarker responses characteristic of
ICD and to provide an anticancer benefit in vivo. Here, we report
a rationally designed redox-active Au­(I) bis-N-heterocyclic carbene
that induces ICD both in vitro and in vivo. This work benefits from
a synthetic pathway that allows for the facile preparation of asymmetric
redox-active Au­(I) bis-N-heterocyclic carbenes.