Oxidation: The Most Common Pathway for the Pro-drugs Bio Precursors Activation

Abstract

Oxidation of inactive prodrug (that their mode of action is not via linkage carrier, but occur through modification of their molecules which are called the bio precursor) to active parent drug design is generally via the methods modification strategies that aim to improve the physicochemical and pharmacological properties of drugs such as increases bioavailability, water solubility and/or duration of action. These prodrugs need metabolically or chemical transformation reactions to change to their active drugs, these chemical reactions are generally formed by phase I reactions through proton activation, elimination activation, oxidative activation, reductive activation and phosphorylation activation or decarboxylation activation. The goal of this review is to study the up-to-date advances in the prodrug’s oxidative activation such as N-and O-oxidative dealkylation, oxidative deamination, N-oxidative and S-oxidative important strategies to produce the parents’ active drugs. Oxidation reactions are of great importance and most cancerous diseases begin with these reactions.