Privileged Heterocyclic Scaffolds in Anticancer Drug Development

Dear colleagues,

Several heterocyclic scaffolds, such as quinoline, benzimidazole, pyrazole, or indole, are considered privileged structures in the design of anticancer drugs. Due to their drug-like properties, these scaffolds are widely used in rational drug design and they can be found within a large variety of approved anticancer drugs. Of most interest are the scaffolds that have selectivity for a small group of closely related targets. This type of scaffold can generate compounds with high selectivity towards targets involved in cancer pathology, highlighting their importance in the development of selective antitumor drugs. The target-family privileged scaffold concept emerged to describe chemical frameworks that are specific for a single target family and with limited off-target affinities.

This Special Issue aims to provide a survey of the recent advances in the use of privileged heterocyclic scaffolds for targeted anticancer drug development. Special emphasis should be placed on the selective affinity of the heterocyclic scaffold towards a particular type of oncotarget. Either original research articles or reviews that discuss the anticancer applications of selective molecular scaffolds are welcome.

Dr. George Mihai Nitulescu
Guest Editor

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