New substituted benzimidazole derivatives: a patent review (2010 - 2012).

INTRODUCTION: Benzimidazole is a heterocyclic aromatic system, which is part of some natural and many synthetic compounds. A large number of benzimidazoles and its derivatives are found to be biologically active against many diseases. Researchers around the world are paying greater attention to and showing increasing interests in this field. AREAS COVERED: Areas covered in this paper include a review of the synthesis, biological effects and mechanisms of benzimidazole derivatives in the past 2 years, based on literature and patents. The patent databases SciFinder and esp@cenet were used to locate patent applications that were published between 2010 to present. Information from articles published is also included. The current state and problems are also discussed. EXPERT OPINION: Benzimidazole derivatives possess a broad spectrum of biological activities, whose scopes of treatment ranging from ordinary antimicrobial activities to world's most deadly diseases. However, challenges such as drug resistance, relatively little knowledge of structure of receptors and rare convenient methods for synthesis of benzimidazoles still exist.