Biological Significance of Imidazole-based Analogues in New Drug Development

In the field of heterocyclic medicinal chemistry, especially five-membered ring structures containing a nitrogen atom, imidazole core is an imperative aromatic heterocycle which is usually present in naturally occurring products and synthetic bioactive molecules. The occurrence of imidazole moiety in therapeutic compounds may be beneficial in terms of improving water-soluble properties due to its two nitrogen atoms which leads to the creation of hydrogen bonds. The imidazole nucleus has also been recognized as an important isostere of triazole, pyrazole, thiazole, tetrazole, oxazole, amide etc. for the purpose of designing and development of various biologically active molecules. Moreover, imidazole core as an attractive binding site could interact with diverse cations and anions as well as biomolecules through different reactions in the human biological system thus displaying extensive biological activities. This effort thoroughly provides a wide-ranging assessment in current drug discovery and developments of imidazolebased analogues in the entire series of synthetic medicinal chemistry as antibacterial and antifungal, anticancer, anti-tubercular, analgesic and anti-inflammatory, anti-neuropathic, antihypertensive, anti-allergic, anti-parasitic, antiviral, antidepressant, anti-obesity and so on, altogether with their prospective approaches in diagnostic and pathological field. It is expected that the present review will be supportive on behalf of new opinions in the search for rational strategies of more efficacious and less toxic medicinal agents and drugs containing imidazole core.