Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of some imidazothiazole derivatives of benzofuran

Natural source, bioactivity and synthesis of benzofuran derivatives

Benzofuran compounds are a class of compounds that are ubiquitous in nature. Numerous studies have shown that most benzofuran compounds have strong biological activities such as anti-tumor, antibacterial, anti-oxidative, and anti-viral activities. Owing to these biological activities and potential applications in many aspects, benzofuran compounds have attracted more and more attention of chemical and pharmaceutical researchers worldwide, making these substances potential natural drug lead compounds. For example, the recently discovered novel macrocyclic benzofuran compound has anti-hepatitis C virus activity and is expected to be an effective therapeutic drug for hepatitis C disease; novel scaffold compounds of benzothiophene and benzofuran have been developed and utilized as anticancer agents. Novel methods for constructing benzofuran rings have been discovered in recent years. A complex benzofuran derivative is constructed by a unique free radical cyclization cascade, which is an excellent method for the synthesis of a series of difficult-to-prepare polycyclic benzofuran compounds. Another benzofuran ring constructed by proton quantum tunneling has not only fewer side reactions, but also high yield, which is conducive to the construction of complex benzofuran ring systems. This review summarizes the recent studies on the various aspects of benzofuran derivatives including their important natural product sources, biological activities and drug prospects, and chemical synthesis, as well as the relationship between the bioactivities and structures.

A benzofuran-β-alaninamide based “turn-on” fluorescent chemosensor for selective recognition of Fe3+ ions

A benzofuran-β-alaninamide based chemosensor, 3-(3-((4-methylbenzyl)amino)propanamido)benzofuran-2-carboxamide (BAA), was designed and synthesized for selective detection of Fe³⁺ ions.

Benzofuran derivatives and their anti-tubercular, anti-bacterial activities

Benzofuran is a fundamental structural unit in a variety of biologically active natural products, and its derivatives display various biological properties. Some benzofuran derivatives possess unique anti-tubercular and anti-bacterial action mechanism, and exhibit excellent in vitro and in vivo activities against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant pathogens. Moreover, several benzofuran derivatives have already used in clinics for the treatment of various diseases. Thus, benzofuran is a useful pharmacophore to develop new anti-tubercular and anti-bacterial drugs. This review covers the recent advances of benzofuran derivatives as potential anti-tubercular and anti-bacterial agents, and the structure-activity relationship is also discussed to pave the way for the further rational development of this kind of derivatives.

Antifungal and anthelmintic activity of novel benzofuran derivatives containing thiazolo benzimidazole nucleus: an in vitro evaluation

A novel series of thiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazole derivatives containing benzofuran nucleus (5a-l) have been synthesized. The key intermediate, substituted benzimidazol-sulfanyl benzofuran ethanone (3a-d) was prepared by refluxing the mixture of substituted 2-acetyl benzofuran and substituted 2-mercaptobenzimidazole in acetic acid. The cyclisation of compounds (3a-d) using polyphosphoric acid furnished the corresponding 6-substituted benzofuran thiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazoles (4a-d). Further, the cyclized compounds (4a-d) were subjected for Mannich reaction to give corresponding Mannich bases (5a-l). All newly synthesized compounds were screened for antifungal and anthelmintic activity. Amongst the tested compounds, 4b and 4d exhibited potential antifungal activity. From the anthelmintic activity data, it was found that the compounds 3a, 3b and 5i were found to be more effective against the tested earthworm Pheretima posthuma. In correlation to anthelmintic activity, the selected compounds were subjected for molecular docking studies and the compounds 3a and 5i have emerged as active anthelmintic agents with maximum binding affinity (-3.7 and -5.4 kcal/mol).

R. C, Chand K, Santos MA, Keri RS. Benzofuran: an emerging scaffold for antimicrobial agents

The present article systematically gives a comprehensive review of current development of benzofuran-based compounds as antimicrobial agents and the perspectives that they hold for future research.