Metals in medicine - a cure for malaria?

Abstract: This bachelor project was about investigating new synthetic routes for metal complexes that are potential anti-malarial agents. The testing for anti malarial activity is to be carried out after the end of this project. The focus will thus be on presenting the laboratory work that was achieved; some synthetic strategies that can be used and further developed and some that should be avoided when synthesizing these kinds of metal complexes. It is believed that four different metal complexes with potential anti-malaria activity were successfully synthesized, of which two were pure and two needs further purification. This report describes the synthesis and structures of for the ligands L’ L1, HL2 and HL3 that were used in the attempted syntheses to form the different complexes. The routes for making the complexes (1) – (5) are thought to have been successful (complex (3) was an intermediate) and the desired complexes (6) – (10) could not be synthesized.