Anti-Infective Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Infective Agents) - Volume 8, Issue 3, 2009

Terpenoids, biosynthetically related ubiquitous compounds found in virtually all living organisms from marine invertebrates to blooming plants, are derived from the same precursor but their structures and biological and/or pharmacological activities are widely different. Our review concerns terpenoid compounds with antiviral activities, from the simplest sesquiterpenes to diterpenes and sesterterpenes. They include commer Read More

Terpenoid compounds of natural origin with antiviral activities, namely triterpenes and steroids, include compounds with potential future medical use as well as substances in different stages of clinical research and testing. These natural compounds have often been synthetically modified, the modification including both changes in the basic structure or mere substituent modifications.

Pasteur and Joubert, in 1877, were among the first to recognize the potential of microbial products as therapeutic agents and demonstrated that common microorganisms could inhibit the growth of Anthrax bacilli. However, the milestone in the field of antimicrobial agents was the advent of penicillin, in 1928, by Alexander Fleming from a strain of the mold Penicillium. Since then, the fungi and higher plants have been searche Read More

The mounting incidences of drug resistance of the unicellular eukaryotes along with insecticide- resistant vectors are the foremost factors contributing towards the amplified prevalence of tropical diseases in underdeveloped and developing countries. Malaria and leishmaniasis are two most significant parasitic diseases endemic in these regions and result in high rates of mortality and pose an additional socio- economic Read More

The interactions between bovine serum albumin and phenols have been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The interaction divides into specific and non-specific binding sites, and mainly ascribes to the electronic force. One specific binding site between bovine serum albumin and p-aminophenol (p-AP) as well as p-quinonimine (p-AQ) is obtained. Both the specific binding number of p-AP and p-AQ binding bovine seru Read More

Infection specific radiopharmaceuticals can be used for diagnosis, decision-making in therapy and treatment follow-up. Research has been ongoing to develop infection specific markers since clinically used tracers cannot discriminate between infection and inflammation. A specific radiopharmaceutical for infection imaging should satisfy the following criteria: high and specific uptake at the infection site, rapid infecti Read More