This comprehensive review describes methods for the preparation of 1-indanones published in original and patent literature from 1926 to 2017. More than 100 synthetic methods utilizing carboxylic acids, esters, diesters, acid chlorides, ketones, alkynes, alcohols etc. as starting materials, have been performed. This review also covers the most important studies on the biological activity of 1-indanones and their derivatives which are potent antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial, antibacterial and anticancer compounds. Moreover, they can be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and as effective insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Abstract: Background: Cancer is one of the most serious illnesses of our civilization. Therefore, scientists of different disciplines try to find new treatment strategies and new chemical molecules which might be useful in a cancer treatment. Objective: The goal of this work is to perform the most significant achievements in the area of chemotherapeutic treatment, published during the last two years. Methods: We reviewed almost 80 contributions, searching for new molecules with anticancer activity and treatment strategies. Results: We have presented tens of new anticancer molecules interacting with DNA or affecting cell cycle and new findings in this area. These compounds are chemically synthesized as well as are isolated from natural sources. The discovered molecules may induce cancer cells apoptosis, improve other cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy or reduce side effects of chemotherapy. Conclusion: The review shows that the cancer battle is still in progress and the combined studies in different disciplines, devoted to this subject, are a rapidly expanding area.

The ecotoxicological impact of pharmaceuticals has received considerable attention, primarily focusing on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) while largely neglecting the potential hazards posed by pharmaceutical excipients. Therefore, we analyzed the ecotoxicity of 16 commonly used pharmaceutical excipients, as well as 26 API–excipient and excipient–excipient mixtures utilizing the Microtox^® test. In this way, we assessed the potential risks that pharmaceutical excipients, generally considered safe, might pose to the aquatic environment. We investigated both their individual ecotoxicity and their interactions with tablet ingredients using concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models to shed light on the often-overlooked ecotoxicological consequences of these substances. The CA model gave a more accurate prediction of toxicity and should be recommended for modeling the toxicity of combinations of drugs with different effects. A challenge when studying the ecotoxicological impact of some pharmaceutical excipients is their poor water solubility, which hinders the use of standard aquatic ecotoxicity testing techniques. Therefore, we used a modification of the Microtox^® Basic Solid Phase protocol developed for poorly soluble substances. The results obtained suggest the high toxicity of some excipients, i.e., SLS and meglumine, and confirm the occurrence of interactions between APIs and excipients. Through this research, we hope to foster a better understanding of the ecological impact of pharmaceutical excipients, prompting the development of risk assessment strategies within the pharmaceutical industry.