Microwave-assisted Green Synthesis: An Approach for the Development of Anti-tubercular Agents

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs but can also spread to the brain and spine. The highly pathogenic bacteria that causes TB is called <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> (Mtb). Usually, when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks, the disease spreads through the air. TB is treatable with antibiotics, but it requires a long course of treatment, usually 6 to 9 months to eliminate the bacteria and prevent drug resistance. Thus, developing novel anti-tubercular therapeutics with various structural classes is necessary to solve the problems brought on by strains that are resistant to several currently available therapies. Resistance to widely used anti-tubercular drugs is increasing daily. As a result, continuing medication therapy is necessary to stop more microbial infections. However, it leads to treatment resistance, which increases the likelihood that the disease may resurface in immune-compromised patients. Several anti-tubercular medications with various molecular structures show appropriate anti-tubercular action against <i>Mycobacterium TB</i> strains that are drug-sensitive and drug-resistant. Compared to conventional synthetic methods, synthetic reactions can be carried out more effectively and selectively under simple reaction conditions by employing microwave radiation. Microwave- assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) is a useful method for increasing product yield and selectivity while accelerating the reaction rate for different types of organic synthesis. Several lead compounds with anti-tubercular properties that were synthesized using the microwave irradiation (MWI) approach are discussed in the current work.