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News From The American Chemical Society, Sept. 3, 2008

An advance on new generations of chemotherapy and antiviral drugs

Researchers are describing progress toward developing a new generation of chemotherapy agents that target and block uncontrolled DNA replication - a hallmark of cancer, viral infections, and other diseases - more effectively than current drugs in ways that may produce fewer side effects. Their article was scheduled for the Aug. 27 issue of ACS' Biochemistry, a weekly journal.

In the article, Anthony J. Berdis updates and reviews worldwide research efforts to develop drugs that target DNA polymerases, the enzymes responsible for assembling DNA from its component parts. Several promising strategies are already in use that inhibit uncontrolled DNA replication, particularly in anticancer therapy, but most produce severe side effects and are hampered by drug resistance, the researcher notes.

Berdis says that one of the more promising strategies to date involves the use of so-called nucleoside analogues, artificial pieces of DNA that inhibit replication by substituting for natural segments. Most nucleoside analogues directly target the active site of the polymerase enzyme, a non-specific approach that can also harm healthy cells which contain the enzyme. Berdis describes an alternative approach in which the drugs directly target damaged DNA while avoiding healthy DNA, side-stepping the polymerase enzymes of normal cells. The development, which shows promise in preliminary lab studies, could lead to improved nucleoside analogues with fewer side effects, he says.

ARTICLE: "DNA Polymerases as Therapeutic Targets"

CONTACT:
Anthony J. Berdis, Ph.D.
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio 44106

Marijuana ingredients show promise in battling superbugs

Substances in marijuana show promise for fighting deadly drug-resistant bacterial infections, including so-called "superbugs," without causing the drug's mood-altering effects, scientists in Italy and the United Kingdom are reporting. Besides serving as infection-fighting drugs, the substances also could provide a more environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic antibacterial substances now widely used in personal care items, including soaps and cosmetics, they say. Their study is scheduled for the Sept. 26 issue of ACS' monthly Journal of Natural Products.

In the new study, Giovanni Appendino and colleagues point out that scientists have known for years that marijuana contains antibacterial substances. However, little research has been done on those ingredients, including studies on their ability to fight antibiotic resistant infections, the scientists say.

To close that gap, researchers tested five major marijuana ingredients termed cannabinoids on different strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a "superbug" increasingly resistant to antibiotics. All five substances showed potent germ-killing activity against these drug-resistant strains, as did some synthetic non-natural cannabinoids, they say. The scientists also showed that these substances appear to kill bacteria by different mechanisms than conventional antibiotics, making them more likely to avoid bacterial resistance, the scientists note. At least two of the substances have no known mood-altering effects, suggesting that they could be developed into marijuana-based drugs without causing a "high."

ARTICLE: "Antibacterial Cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa: A Structure-Activity Study"

CONTACT:
Giovanni Appendino, Ph.D.
Università del Piemonte Orientale

Toward improved antibiotics using proteins from marine diatoms

Researchers in Florida are reporting an advance toward tapping the enormous potential of an emerging new group of antibiotics identical to certain germ-fighting proteins found in the human immune system. Their study, which may help fight the growing epidemic of drug-resistant infections, is in the current (August) issue of ACS' Biomacromolecules, a monthly journal.

In the new study, D. Matthew Eby, Glenn Johnson, and Karen Farrington point out that scientists have long eyed the germ-fighting potential of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These small proteins fight a wide range of bacteria and fungi in the body and have the potential to be developed into powerful drugs to overcome infections that are resistant to conventional drugs. But scientists report difficulty producing effective AMPs because the antibiotics are fragile and easily destroyed in the body. An effective way to stabilize them is needed, they say.

In laboratory studies, the researchers showed that the coating protected the antibiotics from destruction by other chemicals while allowing the release of a controlled antibiotic dose for an extended period of time. These features are key to the effective use of AMPs as antibiotics, they say.

ARTICLE: "Synthesis of Bioinorganic Antimicrobial Peptide Nanoparticles with Potential Therapeutic Properties"

CONTACT:
D. Matthew Eby, Ph.D.
Universal Technology Corporation
Air Force Research Laboratory/RXQL
Tyndall AFB, FL. 32403

Job applicants beware: It's getting tougher to trick pre-employment drug tests

Laboratories that perform pre-employment drug screening are fighting back - against hundreds of products now on the market that promise to mask evidence of illicit drug use, according to an article scheduled for the Sept. 8 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody Voith points out that job applicants now have access to an array of products purported to alter urine samples to hide evidence of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drugs. Some are supposed to dilute evidence of illicit drugs to levels undetectable by conventional tests. Others used adulterants advertised to inactivate or destroy chemical markers used to identify drugs.

Drug-testers are responding with more sensitive tests that can identify tell-tale chemical signs of diluted urine samples or quickly detect the presence of adulterants. The article also explains that testers may get a boost from proposed new drug testing guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. They would permit use of hair and saliva samples in drug screening of candidates for federal jobs. That screening could indentify illicit drugs more reliably than urine samples alone, the article notes.

ARTICLE: "Catching a Cheater"

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Article adapted by Start Sanatate from original press release.
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The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society





Noutati de la American Chemical Society, 3 septembrie, 2008 - News From The American Chemical Society, Sept. 3, 2008 - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate