Abstract

Isatin or 1H-indole-2,3-dione skeleton has been playing a significant role in drug design and development. Isatin itself and many of its derivatives are widely distributed in naturally occurring bioactive compounds. Various synthetic isatin derivatives were found to possess a broad range of significant pharmacological efficacies especially anti-cancer activity against a wide variety of cancer cell lines. Interestingly, on a few occasions, some isatin-derived scaffolds were reported as more potent than the tested reputed drug molecules. As a result, isatin-derived compounds have been gaining significant attention in cancer-based drug developments. In this review, we have summarized literature reported during the last two decades related to the synthesis of structurally diverse isatin-derived scaffolds with promising anti-cancer activities.

Keywords: Isatin, Functionalized isatins, Isatin-derived heterocycles, Anti-cancer, Cytotoxicity, Anti-tumor, Anti-proliferative.

Graphical Abstract