Recent developments on 1,8-Naphthalimide moiety as potential target for anticancer agents

1,8-Naphthalimide moiety is well known to possess various biological activities as it can very well intercalate with DNA. In recent years, much of the attention has been given to the preparation of naphthalimide derivatives by substitution at various positions of the 1,8-naphthalimide ring for their exploration as anticancer agents. These derivatives possess different anticancer properties, which cover a broader range of cancer cell lines. Interestingly, some derivatives include enhanced activity than the reference standards like cisplatin, amonafide, mitonafide, etc., and be selective against the cell lines. The aim is to study the effect of different modulations at various positions of the 1,8-naphthalimide ring with a polyamine, thiourea, benzothiazole, benzimidazole, and formation of metal complexes and bis-naphthalimides that affects the overall cytotoxic properties of the resulting 1,8-naphthalimides. Moreover, the structure-activity relationship of these variations for the resulting derivatives' anticancer properties has also been discussed. Thus, this review will be important for a wide range of researchers to design and development of various 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives with desired drug profiles.