Gold metallacages: design principles and applications

Metallacages (MCgs) are three-dimensional (3D)-supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) obtained by the self-assembly of metal ions with donor ligands, which are arranged to delimit a cavity. Recently, the number of structural studies using gold ions in the construction of metallacages and the first efforts to design these systems for diverse applications have shone light on the potential of gold MCgs to become useful supramolecular systems in sensing and separation, catalysis, and medicine. This work critically revises the design principles of gold MCgs and their early applications, highlighting the main challenges and opportunities for developing functional assemblies.