ABSTRACT
Carboranes belong to a specific group of electron delocalized clusters, which constitute both boron and carbon atoms. Typically, carboranes with icosahedral structures, have good chemical and thermal stability. The lipophilicity or amphiphilicity properties make carborane particularly suitable to act as a hydrophobic pharmacophore. Carborane clusters can find applications as enhancers of hydrophobic interactions between pharmaceuticals and their receptors, which imparts improved in vivo stability and increases the bioavailability of the relevant compounds. The novel carboranyl cholesterol mimics are excellent building blocks, for the construction of various boronated liposomes (including both nontargeted and receptortargeted types), which are crucial for high-end therapeutics, for example, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) (for the treatment of cancer) and for other applications as well. In the area of anticancer drugs, inhibitors of platelet aggregation, and modulators of important hormone receptors, carboranes are attracting fast-growing research interest in the quest for novel drugs that could overcome the drawbacks, associated with the currently available products. Carboranes are very useful pharmacophores 220for the design of transthyretin amyloidosis and α-human thrombin inhibitors. Modification of adenosine with a carborane cluster had the capacity to open the way for biological screening, evaluation of the new class of bioorganic–inorganic conjugates, modulation of human blood platelet activities, and boron carrier for BNCT.
