NEW APPROACHES TO TARGETING BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS

The paper reviews some of the new approaches to the targeting of bioac tive compounds. In particular, the results of artificially rendering m acromolecules hydrophobic by nonpolar substituents are considered. Thi s principle enabled us to develop a method for suppressing virus repro duction in cells with fatty acylated antiviral antibodies and also to enhance antisense activity of short complementary oligonucleotides. So me ideas for creation of drug-targeting systems based on self-assembli ng supramolecular complexes have been tested. In this respect, a possi bility of using interpolyelectrolyte complexes of nucleic acids with p olycations for targeting genetic material into cells is discussed. Wit hin the limits of this concept, a new class of highly selective immuno toxins ('respecrins') representing supramolecular protein complexes in which toxin molecules are reversibly masked by antibodies to specific antigens of target cells has been developed.