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OPEN ACCESS PLUS
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Contents
9(3): Pp. 148 - 160
E.M.A. Co, S.M. Johnson, T. Murthy, M. Talwar, M.R. Hickman and J.D. Johnson
[Open Access Plus] |
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As malaria continues to be a worldwide problem due to increasing drug resistance, several drug susceptibility techniques have been reported in the literature. A particularly confounding problem is the lack of standardization between methods that result in differences in sensitivities. In this review, we report on the types of antimalarial drug susceptibility assays available to clinical and research investigators. Techniques based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), fluorescence, molecular assays, and optical methods will be outlined. Strengths and weaknesses, as well as field applicability, will be discussed. Furthermore, assay and culture conditions, particularly for the fluorescence-based assays, will also be detailed.
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7(2): Pp. 101 - 117
Christer Sahlberg and Xiao-Xiong Zhou
[Open Access Plus] |
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The NNRTIs play an important role in the present therapy against HIV/AIDS. This review discusses the basic principles in the development of NNRTIs for HIV therapy. It also summarizes the NNRTIs in clinical use and the major series of NNRTIs in development phases. The authors intend to provide an overview of the NNRTI research and to elucidate some important factors in directing the future in the field such as genetic barrier, QD dosing, safety profile and combination with other anti-HIV agents. Despite the enormous progress that has been achieved in the NNRTI field in the past two decades, the present clinical pipeline appears to be insufficient to tackle the huge medical need. The efforts of finding new NNRTIs are certainly much motivated and can be highly rewarding.
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6(3): Pp. 151 - 174
J. Rojo and R. Delgado
[Open Access Plus] |
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Nearly 3 decades ago, a dendritic structure was stepwise synthesized for the first time as a new type of molecules with promising applications. During years a huge effort has been devoted to implement the synthetic skills concerning the synthesis of these molecules and especially, new methods for purification and characterization of these compounds that are in the nanoscale range. The chemical manipulation of the surface and inner core of dendrimers were strategically used to allow a tailor-made control of physical-chemical properties and to discover new applications in material science and biomedicine. Although several examples have been reported in the literature describing applications of functionalized dendrimers and acclaiming a key role of these molecules, very scarce examples are actually close to the market. This review summarizes the state of the art of dendrimers and dendritic polymers as anti-infective agents, with a special focus on the strategies to block receptors used by pathogens for attachment, cell entry and dissemination. These nanometre size molecules are very attractive compounds as new drugs easily to be manipulated to improve their activity and scope. This is already a very active area of research, where we are involved, with interesting potential as demonstrated by the Phase I clinical trial of a functionalized dendrimer with real possibilities to reach the market soon. The success of this compound should provoke an enormous stimulus to scientists working in this area as well as in the industrial companies for investment in this topic.
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