Quinone methides are a class of biologically active compounds that can be used in medicine as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, quinone methides have the potential to be used as pesticides, dyes, and additives for rubber and plastics. In this paper, we discuss a subclass of quinone methides: methylenequinone oximes. Although the first representatives of the subgroup were synthesized in the distant past, they still need to be additionally studied, while their chemistry, biological properties, and perspective of practical applications require to be comprehensively summarised. Based on the analysis of the literature, it can be concluded that methylenequinone oximes exhibit a diversified profile of properties and outstanding potential as new drug candidates and reagents in organic synthesis, both of electrophilic and nucleophilic nature, worthy of wide-ranging further research.
Keywords: arylcyanomethylenequinone oximes; biological activity; chemical transformation; quinone; quinonemethide.