ABSTRACT
Elemental gold is extremely stable and generally regarded as inert; very few gold salts are used either in industry or in pharmaceutical applications. Ionized to its mono-and trivalent forms, gold avidly combines with electron donors forming stable coordination complexes, precluding the occurrence of free gold ions. Monovalent gold, in particular, binds strongly with sulfhydryl groups, presumably accounting for its therapeutic value as an antibacterial.
