Boron Chemicals in Diagnosis and Therapeutics

Abstract

Advances in the field of boron chemistry have expanded the application of boron from material use to medicine. Boron-based drugs represent a new class of molecules that possess several biomedical applications including use as imaging agents for both optical and nuclear imaging as well as therapeutic agents with anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and other disease-specific activities. For example, bortezomib (Velcade®), the only drug in clinical use with boron as an active element, was approved in 2003 as a proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Several other boron-based compounds are in various phases of clinical trials, which illustrates the promise of this approach for medicinal chemists working in the area of boron chemistry. It is expected that in the near future, several boron-containing drugs should become available in the market with better efficacy and potency than existing drugs. This article discusses the current status of the development of boron-based compounds as diagnostic and therapeutic agents in humans.

Evaluation of selected properties of a new root repair cement containing surface pre-reacted glass ionomer fillers

“…The ability of S-PRG cement to nearly eradicate P. gingivalis bacteria can be explained by considerable ion release with antibacterial activity such as boron, strontium, and fluoride. The antimicrobial ability of boron-containing compounds has been a subject of interest in recent years [31,32]. Indeed, boron-based antibacterial therapeutics were suggested to possess strong antibacterial activity against gram-negative infections due to their ability to inhibit various bacterial enzymes [33,34].…”

Current data regarding the structure-toxicity relationship of boron-containing compounds

“…Therefore, the increase in the number of studies on the biological activity of BCCs has led to an accumulation of knowledge in this field, as well as the successful synthesis and testing of some BCCs for medicinal purposes. This in turn has stimulated great interest among researchers to participate in this area of investigation, as well as a growing recognition by the pharmaceutical industry of the medicinal potential of BCCs (Kingma, 1958;Groziak, 2001;Baker, 2009;Das, 2013;Del Rosso, 2014;Soriano-Ursúa, 2014a).…”

“…New BCCs have recently been tested as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticoagulant and antidiabetic agents, while others have been suggested for the treatment of cardiovascular, central nervous system, lung and metabolic diseases as well as inflammatory processes (Das, 2013;Soriano-Ursúa, 2014a). Therefore, the increase in the number of studies on the biological activity of BCCs has led to an accumulation of knowledge in this field, as well as the successful synthesis and testing of some BCCs for medicinal purposes.…”

“…1), have been considered as potential therapeutic agents (Das, 2013;Soriano-Ursúa, 2014a). Some of these BCCs have potential as preventive agents or antiseptics, or in the control of vector-borne disease.…”

“…Unlike mercury salts, BCCs have only been used for a little over a century to produce a beneficial effect for humans, being employed as antiseptics, antibiotics, cosmetics and insecticides (Kingma, 1958;Hunter, 2009;Groziak, 2001). In the last few decades, their use has been extended to new antibiotics and anticancer drugs (Das, 2013;Del Rosso, 2014). Like any molecule, BCCs can produce a toxic or therapeutic effect depending on the concentration in a particular microenvironment.…”