Review of the Syntheses and Activities of Some Sulfur-Containing Drugs

Background: Sulfur-containing compounds represent an important class of chemical compounds due to their wide range of biological and pharmaceutical properties. Moreover, sulfur-containing compounds may be applied in other fields, such as biological, organic, and materials chemistry. Several studies on the activities of sulfur compounds have already proven their anti-inflammatory properties and use to treat diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and HIV. Moreover, examples of sulfur-containing compounds include dapsone, quetiapine, penicillin, probucol, and nelfinavir, which are important drugs with known activities. Objective: This review will focus on the synthesis and application of some sulfur-containing compounds used to treat several diseases, as well as promising new drug candidates. Results: Due to the variety of compounds containing C-S bonds, we have reviewed the different synthetic routes used toward the synthesis of sulfur-containing drugs and other compounds.