Approaches to antiviral chemotherapy

Most of the drugs used today in the treatment of viral infections in man are purine-pyrimidine antimetabolites that interfere with viral replication. Work at Southern Research Institute has identified a number of compounds of this type with promising antiviral activity in both cell culture and rodent test systems. By far the most active and selective agents are carbocyclic nucleoside analogs in which the oxygen of the furanose ring is replaced by a methylene group. The effects of this change on the metabolism and antiviral activity of these compounds is discussed below.