The success of the nucleoside agents, the toxicity and metabolic instability of many nucleoside analogues, and the effects of viral pathogens on public health are driving the design, synthesis and evaluation of nucleoside analogues. This book focuses on the development of these agents.

This book focuses on the development of these agents, and draws together all the available material in an easily consulted form, which at the same time guides the reader into the research literature on the subject. Written primarily for the medicinal chemist, coverage includes both synthetic strategies and outline guidance on the main trends in biological activity. Particular attention is drawn to the comparison of synthetic routes to compounds with their natural analogues.Finally, the important antiviral activities of the compounds are treated, including anti-retrovirus, anti-hepadnavirus and anti-herpes virus properties. Written mainly for medicinal chemists in the pharmaceutical industry and synthetic organic chemists in academe, this book will also be attractive to researchers in institutions focusing on cellular metabolism. Advanced students of organic chemistry will find the clear discussion of the synthetic strategies adopted in the development of these compounds a useful introduction to this exciting and challenging area.

Chemistry of acyclic nucleosides
biological activity of acyclic nucleosides
chemistry of carbocyclic nucleosides
biological activity of carbocyclic nucleosides
the chemistry of L-nucleosides
anti-viral biological activities of L-nucleosides.