Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 12, Issue 18, 2005

The vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) is responsible for the uptake of the excitatory amino acid, L-glutamate, into synaptic vesicles. VGLUT activity is coupled to an electrochemical gradient driven by a vacuolar ATPase and stimulated by low Cl - . VGLUT has relatively low affinity (Km = 1-3 mM) for glutamate and is pharmacologically and structurally distinct from the Na+-dependent, excitatory amino acid transporters (EA Read More

Recently, the spectrum of molecular imaging devices such as positron emission tomography (PET) was further expanded by the now clinically available combined imaging modalities such as PET-CT and the preclinically used small animal PET scanners. These are powerful tools that can bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical evaluation studies of new radiotracers for molecular imaging of healthy and diseased sta Read More

Research in the field of bioinorganic chemistry has been stimulated by the worldwide success of the anticancer drug cisplatin. 40 years after the first report about its biological activity, carboplatin and oxaliplatin are in routine clinical use today, whereas nedaplatin, lobaplatin, and heptaplatin (SKI2053R) are only approved in Japan, China, and South Korea, respectively. Up to now, about 35 platinum complexes entered clinical t Read More

This contribution reviews the synthesis of a range of experimental drugs designed for and aiming at antiviral chemotherapy of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-induced human disease conditions. The selection of 25 test materials includes eleven trioxa-adamantane-triols (TATs) [BN, IBNCA, ABNCA, VANBA, ethylVANBA, euBN, euVANBA, ansaBN, Ehrlich BN, [6]prismaneBN, nitrodiBN], trivi Read More

Copper ions, either alone or in copper complexes, have been used to disinfect liquids, solids and human tissue for centuries. Today copper is used as a water purifier, algaecide, fungicide, nematocide, molluscicide as well as an antibacterial and anti-fouling agent. Copper also displays potent anti-viral activity. This article reviews (i) the biocidal properties of copper; (ii) the possible mechanisms by which copper is toxic to micro Read More