Thioethers: an Overview

Abstract

Spreading rapidly in recent years, cancer has become one of the causes of the highest mortality rates after cardiovascular diseases. The reason for cancer development is still not clearly understood despite enormous research activities in this area. Scientists are now working on the biology of cancer, especially on the root cause of cancer development. The aim is to treat the cancer disease and thus cure the patients. The continuing efforts for the development of novel molecules as potential anti-cancer agents are essential for this purpose. The main aim of this review was to present a survey on the medicinal chemistry of thioethers and provide practical data on their cytotoxicities against various cancer cell lines. The research articles published between 2001-2020 were consulted to prepare this review article; however, patent literature has not been included. The thioether-containing heterocyclic compounds may emerge as a new class of potent and effective anti-cancer agents in the future.