highly efficient and widely applicable synthesis of Cu–carbene complexesfrom N,N-diaryl-imidazolium salts and metallic copper. The required amount of gaseous dioxygen and insoluble copper could be reduced down to stoichiometric quantities, while reaction rates clearly outperformed those obtained in solution. Utilisation of Cu(0) as the copper source enabled the application of this approach to a wide array
Cytotoxicity of cationic (NHC)Cu(I) complexes bearing 2,2′-dipyridylamine (dpa) type ligands has been evaluated toward 4 cancer cell lines, and compared to the one of neutral (NHC)Cu(I) complexes. The high cytotoxicity of these novel cationic (NHC)Cu(I) complexes, combined with the straightforward synthesis, and versatility of dpa type ligands may offer new prospects in cancer research, toward the