Research Article Details

Abstract

Chalcones are α,β-unsaturated ketones; they act as versatile ligands for transition metals [1] because of their carbonyl oxygen and additional O- or N-donor sites. This review discusses the synthesis of chalcones, their coordination with transition-metal ions, and applications of the resulting complexes in antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, sensing, and photocatalytic areas. Metal coordination often enhances biological activity, solubility, stability, and optical properties compared with free chalcone ligands. However, current research faces limitations such as uncertain coordination structures, limited structure–activity relationship studies, inadequate mechanistic and toxicological evaluation, and limited green synthesis. Future work should use single-crystal X-ray diffraction, systematic metal and substituent comparisons, computational studies, and sustainable synthetic methods to develop more effective chalcone-based metal complexes.

Key words: Chalcones, Transition- metal complexes, Antimicrobial activity.