Buckybowls at the Biointerface: Sumanene and Corannulene as Emerging Platforms for Medicinal Chemistry

Considering the widespread research on medicinal chemistry applications of fullerenes and other carbon nanomaterials, the biological features of sumanene and corannulene buckybowls have been widely discussed and anticipated over the years. Over the last fifteen years, progress has been made in designing sumanene and corannulene derivatives for medicinal chemistry applications. Reported studies cover not only computational investigations, which suggest the attractive potential of buckybowls as bio-functional molecules, but also experimental works that have demonstrated their use as anticancer or antimicrobal agents, or bio-imaging vectors. This area of research represents an intriguing marriage of organic, physical, supramolecular, and medicinal chemistry, making it a high-impact, visionary, and interdisciplinary field. The present work summarizes buckybowls' known applications as ingredients of active therapeutic agents, potential drug carriers, and bioimaging probes, from synthetic, structural, and functional perspectives. It discusses possible future developments to further stimulate progress in this exciting area of research.