Selectivity of biomolecular recognition processes: synthesis and pharmacological activity of novel biomimetic agents.

Biomimetic agents are synthetic compounds devised to resemble structures and properties of natural biomolecules with the aim to solve complex human problems. Glycomimetics, nucleoside analogues (NAs) and modified oligonucleotides (MOs) represent biomimetic agents that have found various pharmacological applications and constitute the topic of the three main sections in which this PhD thesis has been organized. The design, the synthesis and then the biological evaluation of such molecules have been undertaken; in all cases the aim was the development of new agents with targeted pharmacological activity or improved biological selectivity in several medicinal chemistry contexts.