Phthalimides: Biological Profile and Recent Advancements

Among the bicyclic non-aromatic nitrogen heterocycles, phthalimides are an interesting class of compounds with a large range of applications. Phthalimides have served as starting materials and intermediates for the synthesis of many types of alkaloids and pharmacophores. Recently, phthalimide and some of its derivatives have proved to have important biological effects similar or even higher than known pharmacological molecules and so their biological activity is being a subject of biomedical research. Phthalimides have received attention due to their antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic, antitumour, anxiolytic and anti HIV-1 activities. When phthalimide is subjected to Mannich condensation, it may yield Mannich bases which may display more potent biological activities. The present review focuses the novel synthesized phthalimides having important biological activities.