Bupivacaine is a long acting local anesthetic in use for many years as a spinal/epidural anesthetic for childbirth and orthopedic procedures, such as hip replacement. It is marketed by AstraZeneca under the trade name Chirocaine. It acts by blocking Na+ channels and also has actions on the heart, which restrict its use by intravenous injection for …
Chiral twins with independent therapeutic value Propoxyphene is a classical example of a synthetic chiral drug where the enantiomers of a chiral drug exhibit desirable but different therapeutic activity. Example of such biological behavior is exemplified by some of the natural products as well (e.g., quinine and quinidine) with anti-malarial and anti-arrhythmic activity. Chirality and …
The chiral switches of ‘profen’ NSAIDs Chiral switches have been successful in two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – ibuprofen and ketoprofen. The switch of ibuprofen is based on chiral inversion; (±)- and (S)-ibuprofen can be viewed as being essentially bioequivalent’. Ibuprofen carries a stereogenic center in the propanoic acid side chain and exists as a pair …
Salbutamol (also known as Albuterol ) is used to prevent and treat wheezing and shortness of breath caused by breathing problems (such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Salbutamol is a short-acting, selective beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist used in the treatment of asthma and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Synonym Albuterol Chirality and biological activity Salbutamol is …
Esomeprazole is used to treat conditions where there is too much acid in the stomach. It is used to treat duodenal and gastric ulcers, erosive esophagitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, a condition wherein the stomach produces too much acid. It was launched by AstraZeneca, in 2000. Esomeprazole magnesium [AstraZeneca; http://www.astrazeneca.com] (gastrointestinal). Chirality and biological …
(S,S)-(+)-Ethambutol is powerful and selective antitubercular drug. It is a classical example of an old drug that was introduced for clinical use in its chirally pure form. Chirality and biological activity Ethambutol contains two constitutionally symmetrical stereogenic centers in its structure and exists in three stereoisomeric forms. An enantiomeric pair (S,S)- and (R,R)-ethambutol, along with …
Levofloxacin is a third generation fluoroquinolone that is widely used in the treatment of mild-to-moderate respiratory and urinary tract infections due to sensitive organisms. Levofloxacin is an antibacterial prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of certain bacterial infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia, acute worsening of chronic bronchitis, …
L-(+)-Ascorbic Acid is another old chiral drug from natural source. It is a water-soluble vitamin (Vitamin C). Ascorbic acid is a potent reducing and antioxidant agent that functions in fighting bacterial infections, in detoxifying reactions, and in the formation of collagen in fibrous tissue, teeth, bones, connective tissue, skin, and capillaries. Found in citrus and …
Most fascinating old chiral drug, from historical point of view, is Quinine. It is known that by early 1600s quinine was being used by South American natives, in Peru, Ecuador, as a crude preparation from the bark of the Cinchona tree for the treatment of malaria. Chirality and biological activity Quinine contains two major fused …
Many medicinal agents important to life are combinations of mirror-image twins called chiral compounds. These twins may look very similar, yet their biological makeup might differ significantly. In other words, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of the individual enantiomers that make up a racemic chiral medication might drastically vary. The Chiral Molecule of the Week …