ABSTRACT
106While metal complexes have been playing an important role in medicinal inorganic chemistry for the development of novel anticancer agents, their application as antiviral agents has been little explored. However, a few very successful developments confirm that there is considerable potential for the development of metal-based antiviral drugs. In this chapter, the recent literature on transition-metal-based antiviral agents is summarized with a special focus on highly pathogenic viruses including SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the current COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, cobalt, copper, zinc and gold in antiviral metal complexes have shown very promising preclinical, and partwise clinical, results that suggest more intensive research is warranted on metal-based antiviral agents.
