Nitrogen-fused Heterocycles: Empowering Anticancer Drug Discovery

Abstract

The worldwide impact of cancer is further compounded by the constraints of current anticancer medications, which frequently exhibit a lack of selectivity, raise safety apprehensions, result in significant adverse reactions, and encounter resistance mechanisms. The current situation highlights the pressing need to develop novel and more precise anticancer agents that prioritize safety and target specificity. Remarkably, more than 85% of drugs with physiological activity contain heterocyclic structures or at least one heteroatom. Nitrogen-containing heterocycles hold a significant position among these compounds, emerging as the most prevalent framework within the realm of heterocyclic chemistry. This article explores the medicinal chemistry behind these molecules, highlighting their potential as game-changing possibilities for anticancer medication development. The analysis highlights the inherent structural variety in nitrogen-containing heterocycles, revealing their potential to be customized for creating personalized anticancer medications. It also emphasizes the importance of computational techniques and studies on the relationships between structure and activity, providing a road map for rational medication design and optimization. Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are a promising new area of study in the fight against cancer, and this review summarises the state of the field so far. By utilizing their inherent characteristics and exploiting cooperative scientific investigations, these heterocyclic substances exhibit potential at the forefront of pioneering therapeutic approaches in combating the multifaceted obstacles posed by cancer.

Keywords: Heterocycles; anticancer; benzimidazole; pyrimidine; pyrrole; quinazoline; quinoline.