Mononuclear six-coordinated Ga(III) complexes: A comprehensive survey

Given the commercial availability of (68)Ge-(68)Ga generators, in principle analogous to the worldwide utilized (99)Mo-(99m)Tc generator, it is surprising that few (68)Ga agents have been developed beyond basic research toward clinical application. The use of the unconventional (68)Ga positron emitter would allow for a cost-effective production of (68)Ga radiotracers far from a cyclotron facility. Moreover, the use of (67)Ga radiopharmaceuticals for imaging studies, and the application of non-radioactive gallium compounds in the treatment of important disorders, including a number of cancer and infectious diseases, make studies on trivalent Ga coordination chemistry attractive for the design of novel gallium-based drugs. The aim of this review is to survey the reported crystal data of six-coordinated Ga(III) complexes in order to gain information to be used in the design of novel Ga complexes of medicinal interest