Application of organic carbamates in drug design. Part 1:anticancer agents - recent reports

Organic carbamates can be used as anticancer, antimicrobial and antimalarial agents, as well as in CNS/CVS disorders and many other areas, either in the form of drugs per se or as prodrugs. As anticancer agents, carbamatechemistry has mainly been used to develop prodrugs. Different mechanism-based approaches have been developed for preparing cytotoxic site-directed drugs of natural as well as synthettic origin, in the preparation of prodrugs, the free phenolic group, generally responsible for causing cytotoxicity in anticancer drugs, is masked in the form of a carbarnate ester. The molecule is designed so that the release of the active drug takes place only at the tumor site. Thus, normal cells escape exposure to toxicity causing side effects. Various approaches have been adopted wherein the molecular transformation caused by biochemicals/enzymes at the tumor site releases the active drug. The present view is limited to the use of carbarnates as anticancer agents and covers only reports from 1990 onwards. Both natural and synthetic products having a carbamate residue and their potential anticancer activity are discussed, as well as the chemistry behind the mechanism of release of the active component from the prodrugs.