Benzimidazole is a benzo derivative of imidazole. It is a kind of bicyclic aromatic organic compounds, which is formed by fusing a six-membered benzene ring and five-membered imidazole at positions 4 and 5 of imidazole ring. It is an important pharmacophore of many biologically active heterocyclic compounds with various pharmacological activities. Benzimidazoles and their derivatives have developed into dynamic heterocyclic systems due to their potency in a variety of biologically active compounds such as anticancer, bactericidal and antiviral drugs. Benzimidazoles are a class of therapeutic motifs with broad relevance in medicinal chemistry.
Compared to quinolines, isoquinolines are also prominent structural motifs present in many biologically significant natural and synthetic compounds. Some well-known isoquinoline alkaloids include the anticancer and anticonvulsant berberine, the vasodilator and antispasmodic drugs papaverine and emetine. In addition to naturally occurring isoquinolines, synthetic analogs have also shown significant biological activity.