Gold(i) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes with tunable electronic properties for sensitive colorimetric detection of glutathione

The Au( i )–NHC complex 1 with strong electron-withdrawing nitro groups exhibited superior peroxidase-like activity, which catalyzed TMB + H 2 O 2 system is designed for sensitive detection of GSH with a low detection limit of 0.14 μM.