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A novel series of benzotriazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and MS spectra. The bioactive assay manifested that most of the new compounds exhibited moderate to good antibacterial and antifungal activities against the tested strains in comparison to reference drugs chloromycin, norfloxacin and fluconazole. Especially, 2,4-dichlorophenyl substituted benzotriazole derivative 6f displayed good antibacterial activity against MRSA with MIC value of 4 μg/mL, which was 2-fold more potent than Chloromycin, and it also displayed 3-fold stronger antifungal activity (MIC = 4 μg/mL) than fluconazole (MIC = 16 μg/mL) against Beer yeast. The preliminary interactive investigations of compound 6f with calf thymus DNA revealed that compound 6f could effectively intercalate into DNA to form compound 6f–DNA complex which might block DNA replication to exert antimicrobial activities. Molecular docking experiments suggested that compound 6f projected into base-pairs of DNA hexamer duplex forming two hydrogen bonds with guanine of DNA. The theoretical calculations were in accordance with the experimental results.

Supramolecular medicinal chemistry field has been a quite rapidly developing, increasingly active and newly rising interdiscipline which is the new expansion of supramolecular chemistry in pharmaceutical sciences, and is gradually becoming a relatively independent scientific area. Supramolecular drugs could be defined as medicinal supermolecules formed by two or more molecules through non-covalent bonds. So far a lot of supermolecules as chemical drugs have been widely used in clinics. Supermolecules as chemical drugs, i.e. supramolecular chemical drugs or supramolecular drugs, which might have the excellences of lower cost, shorter period, higher potential as clinical drugs for their successful research and development, may possess higher bioavailability, better biocompatibility and drug-targeting, fewer multidrug-resistances, lower toxicity, less adverse effect, and better curative effects as well as safety, and therefore exhibit wide potential application. These overwhelming advantages have drawn enormous special attention. This paper gives the definition of supramolecular drugs, proposes the concept of supramolecular chemical drugs, and systematically reviews the recent advances in the research and development of supermolecules, including organic and inorganic complex ones as chemical drugs in the area of antitumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, antivirus, anti-epileptic, cardiovascular agents and magnetic resonance imaging agents and so on. The perspectives of the foreseeable future and potential application of supramolecules as chemical drugs are also presented.