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 …
One of the major problems in organic chemistry is the representation of three-dimensional structures in a two-dimensional media (viz. sheet of paper, blackboard, etc.). Chemists sometimes represent structures for chiral molecules with two-dimensional formulas called Fischer projection formulas. These two-dimensional formulas are a quick way to show three dimensions without the hassle of having to …
Fischer Projection: hassle free way to depict a stereoformula in 2D projection Read More »
This blog is about the behavior of chiral twins in bio-environment. Dwells briefly on chiral discrimination and chiral pharmacology.
This post is to highlight the prominence of chirality in natural products, pharmaceuticals and drug research.