Asborin: The Carbaborane Analogue of Aspirin

摘要

Aspirin, the acetyl ester of salicylic acid, was first discovered in the late 1800s and became one of the most world-renowned drugs. Its fame is rooted in its ability to treat a wide range of symptoms such as fever, inflammation, and pain. Aspirin represents an advancement of the previously applied salicylic acid, which was obtained from myrtle leaf decoction or willow bark extract, but was found to be less active and to cause serious gastrointestinal irritation. Later on, other chemical modifications of aspirin were investigated with the aim of improving its pharmacological profile. The influence of additional substitu-ents on the phenyl ring and modification of the acetoxy and carboxy groups were studied, and even the phenyl core of aspirin was replaced by the organometallic ferrocene moiety. However, none of these derivatives could substitute" for aspirin. We have now modified aspirin by replacing the phenyl ring with a three-dimensional and highly hydrophobic carbaborane cluster.