Preface

The 6^th volume of Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti Infectives comprises five chapters that cover a variety of topics including prolonging antibiotic life, antimicrobial materials and devices, treatment of various infectious diseases.

In chapter 1, Sencanski and Glisic present an overview on Direct-Acting antiviral drugs for treatment of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) that covers the latest therapeutic advances that can potentially convert chronic HCV into a routinely treatable disease. The introduction of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has improved efficacy and tolerance of treatments with high cure rates. A literature review was conducted to identify published clinical trial results regarding DAA combination therapy with third generation NS3/4a protease inhibitors. Detailed attention is given to the chemistry of the approved NS3/4a drugs and candidate therapeutics in advanced stages of development. In this regard, a review of key drug design and organic synthesis stages is presented for anti-NS3/4A DAAs.

In chapter 2, Soares et al explain how lattice plants can be used as a source of anti-infective compounds, Bucio et al in chapter 3 present recent developments on current antimicrobial materials as well as strategies for obtaining antimicrobial surfaces and coatings and their properties. In addition, the safety assessment of biomedical applications and international standards are also discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 4 by Mostafa El-Sayed gives an update on the current progress in the development of new drugs for the treatment of toxoplasmosis. In the last chapter of the book by Irena et al. the authors provide an insight into the current knowledge of the usage of antibody preparations, efficacy and mechanisms of action, with respect to specific diseases, including the treatment of infectious diseases and future prospects.

I would like to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions that will be of great interest. Also, I would like to thank the editorial staff of Bentham Science Publishers, particularly Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director Publications), Mr. Obaid Sadiq (In-charge Books Department) and Miss Asma Ahmed (Manager Publications) for their support.