Boron Cluster Modifications with Antiviral, Anticancer, and Modulation of Purinergic Receptors’ Activities Based on Nucleoside Structures

Nucleoside analogs have been in clinical use for several decades and have become cornerstones of treatment for patients with cancer or viral infections [1,2]. This is complemented with nucleoside antibiotics, a large family of microbial natural products and synthetic derivatives derived from nucleosides and nucleotides [3]. The approval of several new nucleoside drugs over the past decade demonstrates that this class of compounds still possesses strong potential [1,2]. The potential of nucleosides in chemotherapy is enhanced by development of new chemistries for nucleoside modification, better understanding of molecular mechanisms of nucleoside drugs’ actions [4], and pro‐drug technology [5,6]. One of the new developments in the medicinal chemistry of nucleosides is nucleoside derivatives comprising a boron component [7]. The boron part can contain a single boron atom [8] or several boron atoms in the form of a boron cluster (Figure 1.2.1) [9–11]. Boron‐containing nucleosides were originally designed as prospective boron carriers for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) of tumors [10]. As boron‐rich donors in boron‐carrying molecules, dicarba‐closo‐dodecaboranes (C2B10H12) (1–3) are frequently used due to their chemical and biological stability and physicochemical versatility. More recently, dodecaborate [(B12H12)] (4) and metallacarboranes such as 3-cobalt-bis (1,2‐dicarbollide)ate [Co(C2B9H11)2] (4) (Figure 1.2.1), complexes of carboranes and Boron Cluster Modifications with Antiviral, Anticancer, and Modulation of Purinergic Receptors’ Activities Based on Nucleoside Structures