This MedChemComm article by Giovanni Grassi and colleagues in Messina, Italy, has been highlighted in the RSC magazine Chemistry World.
New compounds to fight the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), which causes cold sores, have been made by researchers from Italy. The compounds’ antiviral activity could be enhanced further by encapsulating them in a cyclodextrin nanocarrier that acts as a delivery system.
Giovanni Grassi and colleagues from the University of Messina made indole-3,4-diones that share structural features with inhibitors of kinase – an enzyme linked to many diseases. The inhibitors were recently reported to prevent viral replication in vitro. ‘The diones showed remarkable anti HSV-1 activity in vitro,’ says Grassi. They then encapsulated the most effective dione in an amphiphilic – both hydrophilic and lipophilic – cyclodextrin. These nanocarriers increased the ability of the antiviral agents to penetrate into target cells.
Read the full story here.
The article is now free to access and you can download it here.
Synthesis and anti HSV-1 evaluation of novel indole-3,4-diones
Angela Scala, Massimiliano Cordaro, Antonino Mazzaglia, Francesco Risitano, Assunta Venuti, Maria Teresa Sciortino and Giovanni Grassi, Med. Chem. Commun., 2011
DOI: 10.1039/c0md00190b
