Thiourea and its derivatives are versatile compounds used in several fields of life ranging from medicinal to chemosensor applications. In this review article, generally used preparative methods of thiourea, its coordination compounds with selected metals (Cu, Ag, Au) for biological and medicinal applications and the potentials of thiourea derivatives in analytical chemistry as chemosensors have been discussed. The improved activities of these derivatives in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry can be achieved by coordination with a suitable metal ion. The two fields, selected coordination chemistry and chemosensing of thiourea derivatives are discussed. Since thiourea derivatives are biologically active therefore, their use as chemosensors can be useful to detect anions and cations in environmental and biological samples. The review contains 212 references.
Keywords: Cu/Ag/Au coordination chemistry; Thiourea derivatives; biological applications; chemosensors; preparation.