Sungkyunkwan University Signals the Start of New Antiviral Drug Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Sungkyunkwan University announced on the 23rd that Professor Insoo Kim's research team from the Department of Pharmacy has developed a synthetic technology that selectively converts nucleoside analogues, known as the core structure in antiviral drugs. The research results were published in the September online issue of the world-renowned chemistry journal 'Angewandte Chemie (IF=12.959)'.

Through this research, the team developed for the first time in the world a synthetic method that selectively alkylates the nucleobase within nucleoside analogues using easily applicable sulfur ylides. Previously reported alkylation synthesis methods for nucleobases were applied under organic solvents and involved low chemical reactivity and complex processes requiring multiple steps, resulting in additional production costs for pharmaceuticals and limitations in mass production.

Professor Kim stated, "This research result is a new discovery of the reactivity of sulfur ylides for the direct conversion reaction of carbon-hydrogen bonds," adding, "In particular, this study presents a new signal to promote the development of antiviral drugs for humanity suffering from the novel coronavirus, and it is an optimal synthetic method that has dramatically improved the nucleoside analogue manufacturing method based on existing multi-step synthesis processes."

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