Christian K. Adokoh ^1* Akwasi Boadu ² Isaac Asiamah ¹ Clement Agoni ²

• ¹ University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
• ² University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains a significant global health concern, reported to have a high infection rate with global infection of 38.4 million, as an estimated 2 million new infections and about 700 000 HIV/AIDS related deaths in 2021. Despite the advent of anti-retroviral treatments (ART), HIV/AIDS, persists as a chronic disease. To combat this, several studies are focusing on developing inhibitors targeting various stages of the HIV infection cycle, including HIV-1 protease. This study aims to synthesize and characterize novel Glyco diphenylphosphino metal complexes with potential HIV inhibitory properties. A series of new gold(I) thiolate derivatives and three bimetallic complexes, incorporating amino phosphines and thiocarbohydrate as auxiliary ligands, were synthesized using reported procedures as described by Jiang, et al. 2009 andCoetzee et al., 2007. Structural elucidation and purity assessment of the synthesized compounds (1-11) were conducted using microanalysis, NMR and infrared spectrometry. Employing molecular modelling techniques three of the metal complexes were identified as potential HIV protease inhibitors, exhibiting strong binding affinity interactions with binding pocket residues. These inhibitors demonstrated an ability to inhibit the flexibility of the flap regions of the HIV protease, reminiscent of the known HIV protease inhibitor, Darunavir. This study sheds light on the promising avenues for the development of novel therapeutic agents against HIV/AIDS.