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Guiding Drugs to Target‐Harboring Organelles: Stretching Drug‐Delivery to a Higher Level of Resolution
Author(s) -
LouzounZada Sivan,
Jaber Qais Z.,
Fridman Micha
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201906284
Subject(s) - organelle , pharmacophore , drug , drug delivery , drug discovery , computational biology , drug target , biology , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , nanotechnology , pharmacology , bioinformatics , materials science
The ratio between the dose of drug required for optimal efficacy and the dose that causes toxicity is referred to as the therapeutic window. This ratio can be increased by directing the drug to the diseased tissue or pathogenic cell. For drugs targeting fungi and malignant cells, the therapeutic window can be further improved by increasing the resolution of drug delivery to the specific organelle that harbors the drug's target. Organelle targeting is challenging and is, therefore, an under‐exploited strategy. Here we provide an overview of recent advances in control of the subcellular distribution of small molecules with the focus on chemical modifications. Highlighted are recent examples of active and passive organelle‐specific targeting by incorporation of organelle‐directing molecular determinants or by chemical modifications of the pharmacophore. The outstanding potential that lies in the development of organelle‐specific drugs is becoming increasingly apparent.