Molecular structure and biological and pharmacological properties of 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl or pyranosyl)-4-pyridinone: potential iron overload drugs for oral administration.

Replacing alkyl groups by sugar moieties at N-1 position of 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyridinone did not affect the geometry of the iron chelating sites but increased the hydrophilic nature. The formation of a polymer cluster through the intermolecular hydrogen bonds was also revealed by X-ray crystal structure analysis for the first time in all known 3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone crystal structures. Iron removal from ferritin by the title compounds was more efficient than with DFO.