Review of anticancer potentials and structure-activity relationships (SAR) of rhodanine derivatives

Rhodanine has been recognized as a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry due to its well-known ability to demonstrate a broad range of biological activities. The possibility of structural diversification has contributed to the significance of rhodanine structure in effective drug discovery and design. Many studies have confirmed the potential of rhodanine-derived compounds in the treatment of different types of cancer through the apoptosis induction mechanism. Furthermore, most of the rhodanine derivatives exhibited remarkable anticancer activity in the micromolar range while causing negligible cytotoxicity to normal cells. This review critically describes the anticancer activity profile of reported rhodanine compounds and the structure-activity relationships (SAR) to highlight the value of rhodanine as the core structure for future cancer drug development as well as to assist the researchers in rational drug design.