Distorted Gold(I)–Phosphine Complexes as Antifungal Agents

Fungi cause serious nosocomial infections including candidiasis
and aspergillosis, some of which display reduced susceptibility to
current antifungals. Inorganic compounds have been found to be beneficial
against various medical ailments but have yet to be applied to fungal
infections. Here, we explore the activity of linear and square-planar
gold­(I)−phosphine complexes against a panel of 28 fungal strains
including Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., Aspergillus spp., and Fusarium spp. Notably, two square-planar gold­(I) complexes with excellent
broad-spectrum activity display potent antifungal effects against
strains of Candida auris, an emerging multidrug-resistant
fungus that presents a serious global health threat. To characterize
the biological activity of these gold­(I) complexes, we used a series
of time–kill studies, cytotoxicity and hemolysis assays, as
well as whole-cell uptake and development of resistance studies.