Disodium aurothiomalate is a

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

with the formula . In conjunction with its mono protonated derivative, this

coordination complex A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

or closely related species are used to treat

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

, under the tradename Myochrysine. The thiomalate is

racemic In chemistry, a racemic mixture or racemate () is a mixture that has equal amounts (50:50) of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule or salt. Racemic mixtures are rare in nature, but many compounds are produced industrially as r ...

in most formulation.

Structure

Disodium aurothiomalate is a

coordination polymer Coordination may refer to: * Coordination (linguistics), a compound grammatical construction * Coordination complex, consisting of a central atom or ion and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions ** A chemical reaction to form a coordinat ...

. The salt salt (T = thiomalate³⁻, TH = monoprotonated thiomalate²⁻) is related to disodium aurothiomalate but is easier to crystallise and characterise by

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to Diffraction, diffract in specific directions. By measuring th ...

. The compound is polymeric with Au-S-Au-S^... chains with succinoyl groups attached to the sulfur atoms. The structure of the related drug Aurothioglucose is also polymeric with two-coordinate gold(I) centers. In such compounds, the efficacy results from the compound in solution, the structures of such solution species are often poorly understood. Medical texts sometimes suggest that free Au⁺ ions exist in this and related gold(I) compounds, but the Au-

thiolate In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl grou ...

bonding is highly

covalent A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atom ...

and free gold ions do not exist in solution. Whereas simple gold thiolates are

lipophilic Lipophilicity (from Greek language, Greek λίπος "fat" and :wikt:φίλος, φίλος "friendly") is the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. Such compounds are c ...

, the

carboxylate In organic chemistry, a carboxylate is the conjugate base of a carboxylic acid, (or ). It is an anion, an ion with negative charge. Carboxylate salts are salts that have the general formula , where M is a metal and ''n'' is 1, 2,... ...

substituents render disodium aurothiomalate soluble in water. Disodium aurothiomalate contains no Au-C bonds, so it is not an

organometallic compound Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and ...

in the formal sense.

Mechanism of action

The mechanism of action of disodium aurothiomalate is unknown.

Side effects

Disodium aurothiomalate can cause photosensitive rashes, gastrointestinal disturbance, and kidney damage.

References

{{Gold compounds Gold(I) compounds Immunosuppressants Coordination polymers Gold–sulfur compounds

Structure

Mechanism of action

Side effects

See also

References