The anticancer activity of an air-stable Pd(I)-NHC (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) dimer.

A new dinuclear Pd(i) complex coordinating two bis(NHC) ligands revealed an unsuspected stability despite the unsaturation of the two metal centres. Even more surprisingly, the compound showed high and selective antiproliferative activity against different cancer cell lines and ovarian cancer tumoroids, and the mechanism of action was different from that of cisplatin.