Gravel J, Schmitzer AR. Imidazolium and benzimidazolium-containing compounds: from simple toxic salts to highly bioactive drugs.
Org Biomol Chem 2018;
15:1051-1071. [PMID:
28045182 DOI:
10.1039/c6ob02293f]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The toxicity of simple imidazolium and benzimidazolium salts started to be more and more investigated in the last few years and was taken in consideration in the context of microorganisms, plants and more evolved organisms' exposure. However, the toxicity of these salts can be exploited in the development of different biological applications by incorporating them in the structure of compounds that specifically target microorganisms and cancer cells. We highlight in this minireview the way researchers became aware of the inherent problem of the stability and bioaccumulation of imidazolium and benzimidazolium salts and how they found inspiration to exploit their toxicity by incorporating them into new highly potent drugs.
Collapse