Recent developments in the medicinal chemistry of single boron atom-containing compounds

Various boron-containing drugs have been approved for clinical use over the past two de-cades, and more are currently in clinical trials. The increasing interest in boron-containing compounds is due to their unique binding properties to biological targets; for example, boron substitution can be used to modulate biological activity, pharmacokinetic properties, and drug resistance. In this perspective, we aim to comprehensively review the current status of boron compounds in drug discovery, focusing espe-cially on progress from 2015 to December 2020. We classify these compounds into groups showing anti-cancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic and other activities, and discuss the biological targets associated with each activity, as well as potential future developments. (C) 2021 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Boron-containing drugs have gained increasing interest in clinical settings, due to their unique binding properties influencing biological activity, pharmacokinetics, and resistance. Recent research has focused on categorizing these compounds based on various activities, such as anti-cancer, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic, while exploring potential future developments in drug discovery.