Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 32, 2010

Since cyclooxygenase (COX) isozymes discovery, many papers and reviews have been published to describe the structural bases of COX inhibition, and to debate on the therapeutic and adverse effects of worldwide clinically used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), included COX-2 selective inhibitors (well known as Coxibs). COX-2 inhibition has been widely investigated, whereas the role of COX-1 in human pathophys Read More

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a causative agent for non-A and non-B hepatitis, has infected approximately 3% of world's population. The current treatment option of ribavirin in combination with pegylated interferon possesses lower sustained virological response rates, and has serious disadvantages. Unfortunately, no prophylactic vaccine has been approved yet. Therefore, there is an unmet clinical need for more effec Read More

Functional impairment of endothelial activity (endothelial dysfunction) precedes the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This condition is a result of a reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), a well known vasodilator, which is mainly due to increased NO degradation caused by its reaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although there are several conditions that contribute independently to endothelial dysfunct Read More

Riboflavin, commonly known as vitamin B2, is the precursor of flavin cofactors. It is present in our typical diet, and inside the cells it is metabolized to FMN and FAD. As a result of their rather unique and flexible chemical properties these flavins are among the most important redox cofactors present in a large series of different enzymes. A problem in riboflavin metabolism or a low intake of this vitamin will have consequences Read More

Semi-synthetic β-lactamic antibiotics are the most used anti-bacteria agents, produced in hundreds tons/year scale. It may be assumed that this situation will even increase during the next years, with new β-lactamic antibiotics under development. They are usually produced by the hydrolysis of natural antibiotics (penicillin G or cephalosporin C) and the further amidation of natural or modified antibiotic nuclei with different car Read More

The prodrug design is a versatile, powerful method that can be applied to a wide range of parent drug molecules, administration routes, and formulations. Clinically, the majority of prodrugs are used with the aim of enhancing drug permeation by increasing lipophilicity, or by improving aqueous solubility. Prodrug design may improve the bioavailability of parent molecule, and thus can be integrated into the iterative proc Read More

An important strategy to circumvent the problem of antimicrobial resistance is to search for new compounds with antimicrobial activity. In this context, aminosterols, which include squalamine-like compounds and ceragenins, have gained interest due to their wide spectrum of antibacterial and antifungal properties. In light of recently reported data, we decided to analyze the mechanism of action of these compounds as well Read More

The bis (1-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl)-decandioate called IAC, is a new non-peptidyl low molecular weight radical scavenger able to give a fast reaction with the majority of radical species involved in the oxidative stress. This intrinsic property might be of particular interest in all the processes where it presents an over production of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) such as inflammation. Indeed, it is w Read More

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment modality involving the combination of light, a photosensitizer (PS) and molecular oxygen, which results in the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). Singlet oxygen (1O2) is one of the most important of these ROS. Because the lifetime and diffusion of 1O2 is very limited, a controllable singlet oxygen generation with high selectivity and localization would lead to Read More