Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
paclitaxel
10-deacetyl baccatin III
docetaxel
Fig. 4.
Anticancer drugs paclitaxel and docetaxel.Both compounds can be obtained by chemi-
cal structure modification of baccatin III or 10-deacetyl baccatin III
[66]. However, only recognition of the topoisomerase I as the site of action
stimulated the pharmaceutical industry to develop camptothecin as a novel
anticancer drug. In contrast to the well known anthracyclin-type antitumor
therapeutics which bind to topoisomerase II,camptothecin was the first com-
pound interacting with topoisomerase I. It binds to the complex formed by
topoisomerase I and DNA which starts DNA replication, thus stabilizing the
enzyme/DNA complex and preventing cell proliferation [67].Chemical modifi-
cation of camptothecin, however, did not result in substantially optimizing
efficiency but in improving solubility in water by replacing the hydrogen atoms
at position 9 and 10 leading to topotecan,or at position 7 and 10 leading to irino-
tecan,respectively [68,69].
2.6
Drugs for various Applications
Traditional Chinese Medicine gave rise to new plant-derived anticancer drugs as
well as to therapeutics for the treatment of drug-resistant types of malaria
tropica [70]. Artemisinin (Qinghaosu), the bioactive principle of
Artemisia
annua
,was identified in 1972.Its unique structure was proven by X-ray analysis
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