Cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases worldwide. There is an urgent need for new drugs with novel modes of action and thus considerable research has been conducted for new anticancer drugs from natural sources, especially plants, microbes and marine organisms. Marine populations represent reservoirs of novel bioactive metabolites with diverse groups of chemical structures. This review highlights the impact of marine organisms, with particular emphasis on marine plants, algae, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, sponges and soft corals. Anti-cancer effects of marine natural products in in vitro and in vivo studies were first introduced; their activity in the prevention of tumor formation and the related compound-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicities were tackled. The possible molecular mechanisms behind the biological effects are also presented. The review highlights the diversity of marine organisms, novel chemical structures, and chemical property space. Finally, therapeutic strategies and the present use of marine-derived components, its future direction and limitations are discussed.

This review provides an overview of the chemistry, structure and potential applications of 1-(acyl/aroyl)-3-(mono-substituted) and 1-(acyl/aroyl)-3,3-(di-substituted) thioureas, with general formula R¹C(O)N₍₁₎HC(S)N₍₃₎R²R³. In recent years, the title compounds have found extensive applications as ligands in coordination chemistry. The effect that nitrogen substituents exert on the intra- and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions is discussed, including their role on the coordination properties displayed by these ligands. Novel applications of transition metal complexes bearing 1-(acyl/aroyl)-3-(mono- and di-substituted) thioureas are introduced. Biological aspects are also highlighted. As recently demonstrated, high-throughput screening assay and structure–activity analyses are feasible for this class of compounds. The chemical versatility of 1-(acyl)-3-(substituted) thiourea molecules and the derived metal complexes, together with the possibility of determining detailed structural properties, join biological applications in a promising interdisciplinary approach. The bibliography includes 382 references with emphasis on the literature appearing after 2007. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT