Monica Budău
1, Gabriel Hancu
1*, Aura Rusu
1, Melania Cârcu-Dobrin
1, Daniela Lucia Muntean
21 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Tîrgu Mureș, Tîrgu Mureș, Romania.
2 Department of Analytical Chemistry and Drug Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Tîrgu Mureș, Tîrgu Mureș, Romania.
Abstract
The
majority of modern antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective
serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) have one or two centers of
asymmetry in their structure; resulting in the formation of enantiomers which
may exhibit different pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. Recent
developments in drug stereochemistry has led to understanding the role of
chirality in modern therapy correlated with increased knowledge regarding the
molecular structure of specific drug targets and towards the possible
advantages of using pure enantiomers instead of racemic mixtures. The current
review deals with chiral antidepressant drugs; presenting examples of
stereoselectivity in the pharmacological actions of certain antidepressants and
their metabolites and emphasizing the differences between pharmacological actions
of the racemates and pure enantiomers.