Justyna Żwawiak

Pharmaceutical applications of graphene

Nowadays, dynamic development in nanotechnological sciences is observed. Nanoparticles are frequently used in medicine and pharmacy as delivery systems for different kinds of active substances. One of the latest developed substances, with an unusually wide scope of utility, is graphene. The ways of its use in different fields of industry, not only pharmaceutical and medical, have been a subject of study for many research groups since the moment of its development in 2004. Graphene in pure form is highly hydrophobic. However, the presence of defects on its surface allows chemical modifications to be made, e.g. introduction of oxygen groups by covalent bonding. Also, non-covalent modifications are extensively used, including van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding, coordination bonds, electrostatic and π-π stacking interactions. Due to the large surface area, graphene can be used in combination therapy, consisting in simultaneous administration of two or more pharmacologically active agents. Another interesting approach is gene therapy. Application of the PEI-graphene oxide system increased the efficacy of transfection. Possibilities of graphene and graphene oxide are not limited to their use as active substance delivery systems. These compounds by themselves were also found to be bacteriostatic and antibacterial agents.

Multidirectional Efficacy of Biologically Active Nitro Compounds Included in Medicines

The current concept in searching for new bioactive products, including mainly original active substances with potential application in pharmacy and medicine, is based on compounds with a previously determined structure, well-known properties, and biological activity profile. Nowadays, many commonly used drugs originated from natural sources. Moreover, some natural materials have become the source of leading structures for processing further chemical modifications. Many organic compounds with great therapeutic significance have the nitro group in their structure. Very often, nitro compounds are active substances in many well-known preparations belonging to different groups of medicines that are classified according to their pharmacological potencies. Moreover, the nitro group is part of the chemical structure of veterinary drugs. In this review, we describe many bioactive substances with the nitro group, divided into ten categories, including substances with exciting activity and that are currently undergoing clinical trials.

Synthesis, structure and biological evaluation of novel bicyclic nitroimidazole derivatives.

A new series of 3‐hydroxy‐8‐nitroimidazo[5,1‐b]‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidine systems, being potential tuberculostatic agents, were synthesized. These products are close structural analogs of the basic structure of the known antitubercular bicyclic nitroimidazooxazine PA‐824. The structures of the products obtained were confirmed by X‐ray methods on the example of 3‐hydroxy‐8‐nitro‐1‐phenylaminoimidazo[5,1‐b]‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidine. Evaluation of these products for their anti‐tuberculosis effects revealed interesting structure–activity relationships.

The Structure and Activity of Double-Nitroimidazoles. A Mini-Review

Many interesting applications have been found for nitroimidazoles as therapeutic agents. Among others, some of these compounds can radiosensitize hypoxic tumor cells. The introduction of a second nitroimidazole ring to the molecule can improve the level of its pharmacological effect. The aim of this article is to overview the literature concerning active compounds that contain two nitroimidazole moieties in their structures.