E.M. Fielden – författare

This Workshop, under the auspices of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop program, was organised to review the current status of research into redox-activated compounds particularly bioreductive drugs, and their applications in various fields of medicine, both as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. The Workshop brought together key workers in this currently expanding field of research, i.e. clinici- ans, pharmacologists, biochemists and molecular scientists. The programme consisted of several sections including general review lectures, presentations of laboratory-based and clinical research, some poster presentations and general "round table" discussions. The topics ranged from oxygen effects in biological processes, the nature and function of redox proteins particularly those involved in drug activation, the bioactivation of drugs used as sensitizers in radiation oncology, novel approaches to anti-cancer chemotherapy, anti-bacterial agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-oxidants and varous clinical applications of chemical modifiers. G.E. ADAMS A. BRECCIA E.M. FIELDEN P.WARDMAN v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Organisers gratefully acknowledge the following for their generous financial support: ARW-NATO Comune di Fermo, Italy Cas sa di Risparmio di Fermo Istituto di Scienze Chimiche, Bologna, Italy Pharm. Group ALFA, r,assermann, Schiapparplli, Italy Sadam Indu~tr ie.-' Pharmex Corp., Bologna, Italy vii CONTENTS Characteristics of Hypoxic Cells that Enhance their Susceptibility to Chemical Injury ...

Interest in the biological effects of ionising radiation closely followed the identification of such radiation. The realisation that DNA is the site of genetic infonnation in cells subsequently focussed attention on DNA as an important target in the lethal and mutagenic effects of ionising radiation. Thus radiation effects upon DNA became an important area for fundamental scientific studies by radiation biologists, chemists and physicists. To a first approximation, the concerns of the three disciplines can be divided by time scales: the physical process of energy deposition from photon or charged 16 12 particle and subsequent relaxation (-10- to 10- secs), followed by chemical 12 2 reactions (- 10- to 10 secs), and fmally, the expression of biological effect (minutes to years). Thus, the concept of ''early processes'' conveys different ideas to different scientists, although they are all interrelated. To attempt to describe in any detail all these processes is a mammoth task which is not made easier by the different conventions and experimental approaches of the three disciplines. However, the recent advances in all these scientific areas seemed, to the organisers at least, to offer the opportunity to stimulate more active interaction between physicists, chemists and biologists. With this in mind, a multi-disciplinary workshop was organised, which brought together some fifty scientists to present their own specialist interests and, through extensive discussion, explore which problems are of high priority and require input from the different disciplines to resolve them.