Dengue fever (DF) is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease,
affecting around 100 million people mainly in tropical and subtropical countries. The
dengue virus (DENV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family and possesses a single
positive-stranded RNA genetic material encoding a single polyprotein, which is cleaved
into structural and nonstructural proteins. The consequences of DENV infections range
from fever to haemorrhagic manifestations, and the treatment of the disease is restricted
to symptomatic relief. Medicinal chemistry approaches allied with synthetic methods
can be of great importance for developing effective treatment for this disease, and the
scientific literature provides interesting results of studies that mainly targeted viral
processes to give rise to novel drugs. Viral entry, RNA replication, and polyprotein
cleavage have been the main, although not the only, focus in the development of novel
anti-viral compounds for the prevention and treatment of DF. In this chapter, we focus
on the new trends in the development of bioactive small molecules.
Keywords: Dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, antiviral, drug discovery.