Benzothiazole-based Compounds in Antibacterial Drug Discovery

Numerous compounds with a benzothiazole scaffold that have been described in the literature show promising activities against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and also against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Benzothiazole-based antibacterial compounds bind to different biological targets in bacterial cells and have been shown to be inhibitors of enzymes that are important for essential processes in the bacterial cells, such as cell-wall synthesis, cell division, and DNA replication, or are important for different biosynthetic pathways of essential compounds in bacterial cells, such as the biosynthesis of histidine and biotin. This review focuses on the antibacterial potential of benzothiazole-based compounds, in terms of their specific interactions with targets in bacterial cells. We assess the importance of the benzothiazole scaffold in the discovery of new antibacterial compounds, the potential of benzothiazole-based compounds against resistant bacterial strains, optimization of their antibacterial activity, and the future perspectives of benzothiazole-based antibacterials.