Polyfunctional Thiazole/Thiazolidinone Derivatives as a New Class of Heterocyclic Compounds with Novel Mechanisms of Anticancer Activity.

Abstract

Thiazole and thiazolidinone derivatives constitute an important class of heterocyclic compounds, widely investigated in modern medicinal chemistry for their diverse biological activities and significant potential for structural modification. Particular attention has focused on their anticancer properties and the design of multifunctional hybrid molecules with improved pharmacological profiles. This review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis and biological evaluation of functionally substituted condensed and non-condensed thiazole/thiazolidinone derivatives with anticancer activity. Available literature demonstrates that many of these compounds exhibit pronounced cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects across various tumor models. Their biological activity is associated with interactions with multiple molecular targets, including PPARγ receptors, integrins, PI3K/mtOR signaling pathways, histone deacetylases, matrix metalloproteina- ses, StAt3, and Pim-kinases. These multitarget mechanisms highlight the potential of these heterocyclic scaffolds for developing innovative anticancer agents. Analysis of structure-activity relationships has revealed promising directions for further optimization of the lead compounds. Overall, thiazole and thiazolidinone derivatives remain attractive plat- forms for the rational design of new anticancer drugs with improved selectivity and reduced toxicity.