Abstract
Background: During the last decade, numerous research has indicated a promising perspective for selenophene and benzo[b]selenophene (BBS) as a promising scaffold for biologically active compounds. Selenophene is regarded as a bioisostere of benzene, hence numerous of selenophene derivatives have been synthesized to imitate the biological activities of benzene-containing analogues. Benzo[b]selenophene is regarded as a bioisostere of naphthalene, benzo[b]furan, benzo[b]thiophene, and indole. The main approach to the discovery of new biologically active BBS derivatives is based on the synthesis of selenium analogues of already known bioactive molecules.
Objective: The recent interest of introducing selenium for biologically active compounds may arise from the fact that the selenium is a very useful element. In this review, we are presenting the biological activities described for functionalized selenophenes and benzoselenophenes.
Conclusion: We could show in this review the biological future for selenophenes and benzo[b]selenophenes. Several selenophenes have been studied for different biological activities especially in the field of cancer treatment. For benzoselenophenes, the results of the most recent studies predict promising future in the field of medicinal chemistry. These activities are varying mainly between antioxidant and antitumor.
Keywords: Selenophene, benzo[b]selenophene, cancer, anti-convulsant, anti-depressant, anti-oxidant.
Graphical Abstract