Tetraoxanes as antimalarials: harnessing the endoperoxide.

With the emergence of resistance to artemesinin, the need for new antimalarial compounds is pressing. Several research groups have made significant contributions to the exploration of the use of 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and 1,2,4- trioxanes as synthetic analogues of artemesinin. This short review highlights the recent developments in this field detailing both biological results and useful synthetic methodology. In addition, the current understanding of the mode of action of this class of compounds has been described.