Imidazolidinones and Imidazolidine‐2,4‐diones as Antiviral Agents

Abstract Imidazolidinones and imidazolidine‐2,4‐diones are important classes of heterocyclic compounds that possess potent activities against several viruses such as dengue virus, enterovirus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The first imidazolidinone derivative as an anti‐HIV agent was reported in 1996. Imidazolidinones inhibit HIV aspartic protease activity, and also act as CCR5 co‐receptor antagonists. Significant effort has been devoted to the design of various imidazolidinone analogues that are active against drug‐resistant HIV strains, with fewer side effects. Different scaffolds have been designed through both rational drug design strategies and computer‐aided drug design. Imidazolidinones have been found to be potent against HIV, and preclinical studies are currently in progress. There are some reports of imidazolidinones as having both anti‐HCV and anti‐dengue virus activity, and more research has yet to be done along these lines. These compounds inhibit NS3 serine protease of HCV, and NS2B‐NS3 protease of dengue virus. Pyridyl‐imidazolidinones possess very specific and potent activity against human enterovirus 71 (EV71) by targeting the EV71 capsid protein VP1, and inhibiting viral adsorption and/or viral RNA uncoating.