Based on previous studies, 66 2-phenyl-4H-chromone derivatives containing amide and 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties were prepared as potential telomerase inhibitors. The results showed most of the title compounds exhibited significantly inhibitory activity on telomerase. Among them, some compounds demonstrated the most potent telomerase inhibitory activity (IC 50 < 1 mM), which was significantly superior to the staurosporine (IC 50 ¼ 6.41 mM). In addition, clear structure-activity relationships were summarised, indicating that the substitution of the methoxy group and the position, type and number of the substituents on the phenyl ring had significant effects on telomerase activity. Among them, compound A33 showed considerable inhibition against telomerase. Flow cytometric analysis showed that compound A33 could arrest MGC-803 cell cycle at G2/M phase and induce apoptosis in a concentration-dependent way. Meanwhile, Western blotting revealed that this compound could reduce the expression of dyskerin, which is a fragment of telomerase.

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: 1,3,4-thiadiazole is a five-membered aromatic heterocycle containing two nitrogen atoms and one sulfur atom. As a privileged scaffold, it has its unique chemical properties and biological characteristics. In the design of drugs, they are widely and flexibly applied by medicinal chemists, and many candidates with therapeutic prospects have been developed. In this review, we focus on 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives and their various biological activities reported in the past five years (from 2015 to early 2020), such as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-tuberculosis, anti-inflammatory, antivirus, anti-leishmania and other functions. It is believed that this review can provide some new ideas for seeking rational design to develop 1,3,4-thiadiazole based medicinal agents with better activity and lower toxicity.