Abstract

Background: Benzodiazepines (BDZs) are the bicyclic heterocyclic compounds in which benzene ring is fused to seven membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms. There are different types of BDZs such as 1, 2-benzodiazepines, 1, 3-benzodiazepines, 1, 4-benzodiazepines, 1, 5-benzodiazepines- 2, 3-benzodiazepines possess anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, antipsychotics, muscle relaxant and antimicrobial activities.

Method: Modifications and substitutions have been made in both rings by employing different methods to obtain a large number of BDZs. Due to their biological potentials the benzodiazepine nucleus has continued to attract many investigators to synthesize and screen their analogues for all possible biological activities.

Conclusion: This current review article describes the synthetic approaches and biological activities of benzodiazepines.

Keywords: Benzodiazepines, scaffold, bioactive, skeleton

Graphical Abstract