A BRIEF REVIEW ON GLYCOMIMETICS AND THEIR PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS

This review enumerates the classification, role, and importance of carbohydrate derivatives and glycomimetics. Carbohy-drates are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones. Carbohydrates are the most abundant dietary source of energy for all organisms. They are precursors for many organic compounds such as fatty acids and amino acids. They can participate in the structure of cell membranes and cellular functions such as cell growth, adhesion, and fertilization. Glycomimetics are the compounds of low molecular weight based on the structure of functional carbohydrates. The rational style of tiny molecule glycomimetics that exhibit improved drug-like properties like enlarged affinity, blood serum half-life, stability, and bioavailability. Currently, two successful drugs for influenza (Tamiflu, Relenza) are mimicking (Glycomimetics) the transition state of the enzymatic cleavage of the terminal N-acetyl neuraminic acid. A hopeful example is the antibody 2G12, which has been shown to neutralize HIV infectivity. The functional carbohydrates identified in these recognition processes themselves do not make good drug candidates. Rather, their bioactive conformations in their receptor sites can be empirically determined by physicochemical methods and used for the rational design of small molecule mimics (Glycomimetics) that have higher affinities and more drug-like properties of long serum half-life, metabolic stability, low toxicity, and oral bioavailability. These glycomimetics drugs are new chemical entities and provide innovative therapeutic strategies to address current unmet needs among a wide spectrum of disease applications.