Nucleoside Mimetics Library
Modified nucleosides are useful therapeutic agents being currently used as antitumor, antiviral, and antibiotic agents. A significant variety of modified nucleosides displays potent and selective action against the mentioned diseases. Synthetic acyclic, carbocyclic, C-nucleosides, and modified N-nucleosides have shown remarkable action against AIDS, hepatitis, and Herpes infections.
A significant number of synthetically modified nucleosides were designed as antiretroviral drugs in the therapy of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. During retroviral infection, the viral RNA is used as a template for proviral DNA synthesis, a process mediated by the viral DNA polymerase better known as reverse transcriptase. The proposed mechanism of action of modified agents such as AZT during viral infection involves the interruption of the viral replication process that occurs between the virus and host, particularly the replication inhibition inside T cells, monocytes, and macrophages. [1]
[1] G. Amaral et al., Synthesis and Characterization of Glycosides. (2007). doi:10.1007/978-0-387-70792-1