Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Antiparasitic Agents Targeting Isoprenoid Pathway

SERGIO H. SZAJNMAN

CABA

Simposio; Humbolt-Kolloquium; 2018

Alexander von Humboldt Fundation

American trypanosomiasis is a chronic zoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the largest parasitic disease burden of the Americas being one of the most important diseases in the world. The only drugs to treat T. cruzi infection are nifurtimox and benznidazole. (Figure 1) Neither of these two compounds are FDA-approved drugs, and in the United States they are available only from CDC under investigational protocols. In addition, the etiologic agent for toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic protozoan parasite that is able to infect humans and warm-blooded animals. This illness is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases affecting close to one billion people worldwide. The current chemotherapy for toxoplasmosis is also still deficient.