Synthetic Small Molecules Targeting G-Quadruplexes and their Application

G-quadruplex is expected to be a promising target for drug design. The manually synthesized small-molecule compounds are able to induce the formation of and stabilize G-quadruplexes. In this paper, we summarize the current understanding of the structure of G-quadruplexes, the binding mode of G-quadruplexes and small-molecule ligands, and important synthesized small molecules targeting G-quadruplexes as potential drugs.