Bioreductive drugs: selectivity towards hypoxic tissue

Abstract

Bioreductive prodrugs have been developed to effectively target the hypoxic cell population of tumours. The mechanism of their selective activation in hypoxic tissue is based on the reduction of their oxidative substituents that upon reduction afford the active species. The reduction of the products is brought about by utilising some of the reductive enzymes that are present in all solid tumours. Investigations into the mode of action of bioreductive drugs have resulted in their use as delivery systems that can effectively release a secondary agent preferentially under hypoxic conditions for the treatment of hypoxic disorders.

• bioreductive drugs
• delivery agents
• gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT)
• hypoxia
• hypoxia-selective
• hypoxic markers
• indolequinones
• ischaemia
• nitroaniline
• nitroaromatics
• nitroimidazole
• nitromethyl quaternary salts
• N-oxides
• radiosensitisers
• reductive enzymes