Unveiling the relevance of the redox character of nitroaromatic and nitroheteroaromatic compounds as potential medicines

Abstract

This review discusses the state of the art, challenges, and perspectives in recent applications of nitroaromatics and nitroheteroaromatics, which are redox-bio-activated drugs or leads, in Medicinal Chemistry. It deals mainly with the electrochemical approach toward the electron transfer-based molecular mechanisms of drug action, drug design, estimation and measurement of redox potentials, correlation of physicochemical and pharmacological data, and electrochemical studies of the main representatives of nitro-containing prodrugs, along with approaches to combat their toxicity issues, aiming at a better therapeutic profile. Electrochemical investigation plays essential roles, being strategic in the design and discovery of potential medicines. • Nitroaromatics are redox-activated prodrugs. • Electrochemical-guided work on nitroaromatics led to the discovery of new medicinal prototypes. • Hiphenated electrochemical-structural characterization methods allow mimicking in vivo metabolism. • Modulation of toxicity in favor of therapeutic safety and efficacy is challenging. • Electrochemistry can be a useful guide to the understanding of the phenomena of electron transfer and further applications.