Hybrid molecules with potential in vitro antiplasmodial and in vivo antimalarial activity against drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria is a tropical disease, leading to around half a million deaths annually. Antimalarials such as quinolines are crucial to fight against malaria, but malaria control is extremely challenged by the limited pipeline of effective pharmaceuticals against drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum which are resistant toward almost all currently accessible antimalarials. To tackle the growing resistance, new antimalarial drugs are needed urgently. Hybrid molecules which contain two or more pharmacophores have the potential to overcome the drug resistance, and hybridization of quinoline privileged antimalarial building block with other antimalarial pharmacophores may provide novel molecules with enhanced in vitro and in vivo activity against drug-resistant (including multidrug-resistant) P falciparum. In recent years, numerous of quinoline hybrids were developed, and their activities against a panel of drug-resistant P falciparum strains were screened. Some of quinoline hybrids were found to possess promising in vitro and in vivo potency. This review emphasized quinoline hybrid molecules with potential in vitro antiplasmodial and in vivo antimalarial activity against drug-resistant P falciparum, covering articles published between 2010 and 2019.