BENZIMIDAZOLE: A PROMISING LEAD FOR ANTICANCER DRUG DESIGN

Cancer has been leading life threatening disease so far and is also progressing towards outdating molecules for treatment rapidly. The existing anticancer agents are not sufficient enough to solve this problem. Limited activity, rapid development of resistance and adverse effects, over rides their usefulness. Benzimidazole nucleus is the key building block for a variety of compounds that play crucial roles in the function of a number of biologically important molecules. Benzimidazole as ‘‘lead’’ molecule, binds with other heterocyclic act by intercalation or block cell growth by inhibit the enzymes directly responsible for the formation of nucleic acids. This inhibition is believed to prevent DNA transcription, which ultimately leads to cell death, which explains the use of these drugs to treat cancer.