Recent advances in the synthesis of phthalazin-1(2H)-one core as a relevant pharmacophore in medicinal chemistry

Abstract Phthalazin-1(2H)-one is a diazaheterobicycle found in a wide variety of synthetic molecules relevant to several branches of chemistry, including medicinal chemistry. The versatility of phthalazinone core in drug discovery has promoted the search for new synthetic methods to get access to differently substituted and functionalized derivatives. This review highlights the latest advances in synthesis of phthalazinone derivatives that have relevance to drug discovery processes, analyzing modifications of classical methodologies based on [4 + 2] two-component cyclocondensations as well as novel multicomponent approaches, mostly based on a [3 + 2+1] three-component strategy and very attractive not only because of its synthetic efficiency but also in the matter of environmental compatibility.