Department of Chemistry, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), University Road, Abbottabad-22060, Pakistan.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2013 Nov;13(13):1944-56. doi: 10.2174/13895575113136660092.
Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly toxic and their damaging effects result in a variety of detrimental health issues such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and age-related diseases. Human body has evolved an effective defense system including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase against the toxicity of these free radicals. SOD is a metalloenzyme and it acts as an excellent antioxidant to protect the body from superoxide radicals that are generated in the biological system. However, the clinical use of SOD is limited due to its short in vivo life span, and its large size that hampered its penetration across the cell membranes. Pharmaceuticals that provide ROS scavenging systems are the most effective when the production of ROS exceeds the scavenging capacity of endogenous SOD as a result of aging or pathological processes. Inspired by the Nature, scientists have designed metal-based mimics of the superoxide dismutase. This review focuses on different copper complexes that are developed from bioactive ligands and mimic the protecting action of the SOD.
自由基或活性氧（ROS）具有高度毒性，其破坏作用导致多种有害健康问题，如神经退行性疾病、心血管疾病和与年龄相关的疾病。人体已经进化出一种有效的防御系统，包括超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和过氧化氢酶，以抵御这些自由基的毒性。SOD 是一种金属酶，它作为一种极好的抗氧化剂，保护身体免受生物系统中产生的超氧自由基的伤害。然而，由于其体内寿命短，以及其阻碍其穿过细胞膜的较大尺寸，SOD 的临床应用受到限制。当 ROS 的产生超过内源性 SOD 的清除能力时，提供 ROS 清除系统的药物是最有效的，这是由于衰老或病理过程造成的。受自然启发，科学家们设计了超氧化物歧化酶的金属基模拟物。本综述重点介绍了从生物活性配体开发的不同铜配合物，模拟 SOD 的保护作用。
