Recent advances in design of potential quinoxaline anti-infectives

Antimicrobial diazanaphthalenes are indispensable in the treatment of various infections. The quinoxaline scaffold possesses unique physicochemical properties and provides a possibility of a great number of targeted modifications. Quinoxaline-based compounds have a wide range of promising biological properties; therefore a special attention is paid to them for research and designing of new drugs. In fact, quinoxaline can be considered as a privileged structure. The scaffold can be easily and rapidly constructed, which emphasizes the significance of this favourable structure. The review is focused on recently reported potential antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antifungal and antiprotozoal agents derived from the quinoxaline scaffold, their mechanism of action and structure-activity relationships. A brief classification of synthetic pathways of quinoxaline derivatives is provided too.