Recent achievements in the synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 13; no. 46; pp. 32734 - 32771
• Main Authors: Chung, Nguyen Thi, Dung, Vo Cong, Duc, Dau Xuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 31.10.2023; The Royal Society of Chemistry
• Subjects: Aldehydes; Anticancer properties; Benzene; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemists; Heterocyclic compounds; Imidazole; Reaction mechanisms; Ring structures
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/d3ra05960j

Benzimidazoles are a class of heterocyclic compounds in which a benzene ring is fused to the 4 and 5 positions of an imidazole ring. Benzimidazole refers to the parent compound, while benzimidazoles are a class of heterocyclic compounds having similar ring structures, but different substituents. Benzimidazole derivatives possess a wide range of bioactivities including antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antiviral, anticancer, and antihypertensive activities. Many compounds possessing a benzimidazole skeleton have been employed as drugs in the market. The application of benzimidazoles in other fields has also been documented. The synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives has attracted much attention from chemists and numerous articles on the synthesis of this class of heterocyclic compound have been reported over the years. The condensation between 1,2-benzenediamine and aldehydes has received intensive interest, while many novel methods have been developed. In this article, we will give a comprehensive review of studies on the synthesis of benzimidazole, which date back to 2013. We have also tried to describe reaction mechanisms as much as we can. The work might be useful for chemists who work in the synthesis of heterocycles or drug chemistry. This article gives a comprehensive review on the synthesis of benzimidazoles including reaction mechanisms and a brief description of biological application of benzimidazole derivatives by summarizing recent studies.