LAUSR

Due to the so‐called “antibiotic resistance crisis” new antibacterial agents are urgently sought to treat multidrug‐resistant pathogens. A group of gold‐ or silver‐based complexes, of general formula [M(PEt3)X] (with M=Au or Ag, and X=Cl, Br or I), alongside with three complexes bearing a positive or negative charge—[Au(PEt3)2]Cl, K[Au(CN)2] and [Ag(PEt3)2]NO3—were prepared and comparatively tested with auranofin on a representative panel of pathogens including Gram‐positive, Gram‐negative and Candida strains. Interestingly, all the gold and silver complexes tested were active on Gram‐positive strains, with the gold complexes having greater efficacy. The effects of the gold compounds were potentiated to a larger extent than silver compounds when tested in combination with a permeabilizing agent. A number of relevant structure–activity relationships emerged from the comparative analysis of the observed antibacterial profiles, shedding new light on the underlying molecular mechanisms of the action of these compounds.