Gold-containing drugs
ionic chemical compounds of the element
Gold-containing drugs are pharmaceuticals that contain the chemical element gold (Au). Sometimes these species are referred to as "gold salts" (or medicinal gold). Chrysotherapy and aurotherapy are the applications of gold compounds to medicine. Research on the medicinal effects of gold began in 1935 (primarily to reduce inflammation and to slow disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis). The use of gold compounds has decreased since the 1980s because of numerous side effects and monitoring requirements, limited efficacy, and very slow onset of action. Most chemical compounds of gold, including some of the drugs discussed below, are not salts, but are examples of metal thiolate complexes.
Gold nanoparticles could have biomedical applications
Use in rheumatoid arthritis
Investigation of medical applications of gold began at the end of the 19th century, when gold cyanide demonstrated efficacy in treating Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.
Indications
The use of injected gold compound is indicated for rheumatoid arthritis. Its uses have diminished with the advent of newer compounds such as methotrexate and because of numerous side effects. The efficacy of orally administered gold is more limited than injecting the gold compounds.
“Gold-containing drugs” enters the record as ionic chemical compounds of the element. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Gold-containing, drugs and ionic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2736147. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1935.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gold-containing drugs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.