Water-soluble gold(I) and palladium(II) complexes containing different thiolates and the phosphanes 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) and 3,7-diacetyl-1,3,7-triaza-5-phosphabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (DAPTA) are described. The complexes were characterised by spectroscopic techniques including 2D NMR experiments, and the complexes