Recent Synthetic and Anticancer Perspectives of Isatin‐Schiff Base Derivatives: An Overview

ABSTRACT Cancer is a major challenge for the scientific community in the 21 st century, contributing significantly to high socio‐economic and public health concerns, with an estimated 35 million new cases by 2050. Several internal or external factors account for genetic changes causing disruption of the normal cell cycle. Multiple drug resistance (MDR) and various side effects are expressed by available antineoplastic drugs. The nitrogen‐containing aromatic heterocyclic compound isatin, commonly known as 1 H ‐indole‐2,3‐dione, has great biological potential with diverse therapeutic applications. Erdmann and Laurent found isatin initially from the oxidation of indigo dye in 1841. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved drugs sunitinib and nintedanib (tyrosine kinase inhibitors), used in lung and renal cell carcinoma, have potentiated attention to isatins as a novel class of antineoplastic agents. Schiff bases, a biologically active linker, have helped chemists to synthesize metal complexes and novel cytotoxic isatin hybrids. Based on the past 12 years of published papers on isatin Schiff bases, the current study has summarized the anticancer potential of isatin Schiff's hybrids and metal complexes. The review aimed to cover various aspects, like synthetic scheme, structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis, including docking, which will help in the successful development of safer and less toxic anticancer agents with enhanced target selectivity to overcome MDR.