Xanthine based N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes

Abstract N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes derived from xanthines have attracted much attention. Xanthines comprise a wide range of compounds, among which the best known are caffeine, theophylline and theobromine. Xanthine-NHC complexes have been used as catalysts, antimicrobial, anticancer agents and for their photoluminescent properties. The easy functionalization of xanthines along with their biological activity makes their metal derivatives excellent candidates for the development of novel metallodrugs. And depending of the metal other xanthine-NHC complexes are excellent catalysts for different important organic transformations. Thus, in this review, we summarized the synthesis and applications that xanthine-NHC metal complexes have found this far.