Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds widely occurring throughout the plant kingdom. They are biologically active and have many medical applications. Flavonoids reveal chemopreventive, anticarcinogenic, and antioxidant properties, as well as being able to modulate the immune system response and inhibit inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Polyphenols are also believed to reverse multidrug resistance via various mechanisms, induce apoptosis, and activate cell death signals in tumor cells by modulating cell signaling pathways. The main limitation to the broader usage of flavonoids is their low solubility, poor absorption, and rapid metabolism. To tackle this, the combining of flavonoids with nanocarriers could improve their bioavailability and create systems of wider functionalities. Recently, interest in hybrid materials based on combinations of metal nanoparticles with flavonoids has increased due to their unique physicochemical and biological properties, including improved selectivity toward target sites. In addition, flavonoids have further utilities, even in the initial step of preparation of metal nanomaterials. The review offers knowledge on multiple possibilities of the synthesis of flavonoid-metal nanoparticle conjugates, as well as presents some of their features such as size, shape, surface charge, and stability. The flavonoid-metal nanoparticles are also discussed regarding their biological properties and potential medical applications.

Cancerous diseases are rightfully considered among the most lethal, which have a consistently negative effect when considering official statistics in regular health reports around the globe. Nowadays, metallic nanoparticles can be potentially applied in medicine as active pharmaceuticals, adjustable carriers, or distinctive enhancers of physicochemical properties if combined with other drugs. Boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) molecules have been considered for future applications in theranostics in the oncology field, thus expanding the potential of conceivable applicability. Hence, taking into account positive practical features of both metal-based nanostructures and BODIPY derivatives, the present study aims to gather recent results connected to BODIPY-conjugated metallic nanoparticles. This is with respect to their expediency in the diagnosis and treatment of tumor ailments as well as in sensing of heavy metals. To fulfill the designated objectives, multiple research documents were analyzed concerning the latest discoveries within the scope of BODIPY-based nanomaterials with particular emphasis on their utilization for diagnostical sensing as well as cancer diagnostics and therapy. In addition, collected examples of mentioned conjugates were presented in order to draw the attention of the scientific community to their practical applications, elucidate the topic in a consistent manner, and inspire fellow researchers for new findings.

Flavone–thiazole–aryl hybrid molecules based on 6-aminoflavone and 5-arylidene-4-aminothiazol-2(5H)-ones were synthesized and subjected to physicochemical and biological studies. Microwave-assisted synthesis was performed in two steps. First, an aminolysis reaction of isorhodanine with 6-aminoflavone was carried out to achieve the corresponding hybrid flavone-thiazole 3, which was later subjected to a Knoevenagel condensation with selected aromatic aldehydes, yielding 5-arylidene derivatives 5a–5i. The resulting hybrids were purified and characterized by UV–Vis, NMR, and HR-MS (ESI). In the UV–Vis spectra of all compounds, two characteristic bands were noted. The UV–Vis spectra in DMF of the studied flavone–thiazole–aryl hybrids consist of two major bands with maxima appearing at 280–288 nm, corresponding to band II and 383–399 nm, corresponding to band I, which clearly distinguish them from the large group of modified flavonoids. Among the compounds tested on human bladder cancer 5637 cells, (5Z)-5-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)methylene]-4-[(4-oxo-2-phenyl-chromen-6-yl)amino]thiazol-2-one (5b) exhibited interesting micromolar activity (IC₅₀ 2.37 µM). In addition, four of the tested compounds (3, 5f, 5d, and 5b) presented noteworthy antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum in the low micromolar range (IC₅₀ 1.90–4.90 µM). The obtained group of flavone–thiazole–aryl hybrid molecules constitutes valuable starting points for further structural optimisation, which could usher in future novel active pharmaceutical ingredients and pave the way for novel therapeutic strategies.