Quinoxaline Derivatives as Antiviral Agents: A Systematic Review

Background: In recent decades, several viruses have jumped from animals to humans, triggering sizable outbreaks. The current unprecedent outbreak SARS-COV-2 is prompting a search for new cost-effective therapies to combat this deadly pathogen. Suitably functionalized polysubstituted quinoxalines show very interesting biological properties (antiviral, anticancer, and antileishmanial), ensuring them a bright future in medicinal chemistry. Objectives: Focusing on the promising development of new quinoxaline derivatives as antiviral drugs, this review forms part of our program on the anti-infectious activity of quinoxaline derivatives. Methods: Study compiles and discusses recently published studies concerning the therapeutic potential of the antiviral activity of quinoxaline derivatives, covering the literature between 2010 and 2020. Results: A final total of 20 studies included in this review. Conclusions: This review points to a growing interest in the development of compounds bearing a quinoxaline moiety for antiviral treatment. This promising moiety with different molecular targets warrants further investigation, which may well yield even more encouraging results regarding this scaffold.