Scaffolds of biologically active heterocyclic compounds for discovery of potential drug against SARS-CoV-2

The unabated increase of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus has wreaked havoc at a very large scale. In various direct and indirect ways, the non-living realm is also impacted. Severe health emergencies have broken out globally since 2002, with the advent of SARS CoV that was followed by the MERS CoV outbreak in 2012. The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS CoV-2, that broke out in December 2019 in China has led to an approximate 76, 77,26, 861 confirmed cases and the death toll reported by the World Health Organization stands at 69,48,764 deaths. The WHO reported on 8 July 2023 that a total of 13.4 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally. Heterocyclic scaffolds are exhaustively utilised since many decades for use as antimalarial, antitubercular, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer and antiviral agents. In this review, therefore, we are emphasizing the expected role of cyclic frameworks and its compounds of nine common biologically important imidazoles, benzimidazoles, indoles, oxazoles, pyrazoles, pyridines, pyrimidines, pyrroles, and thiazoles in the design and discovery of novel drugs for combating SARS CoV-2. This has been done by the exploration of available scientific articles and literature that show a variety of heterocyclic moieties that target MERS, SARS and SARS CoV-2 viruses. The heterocyclic moiety and its derivatives discussed in this investigation may be considered essential sources for creating new approaches to treating the SARS coronavirus.