Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors: biology and chemistry

The review is devoted to the problems related to inhibition of the generation of nitric oxide, a versatile regulator of cell metabolism, whose excessive production is responsible for various pathologies. The approaches to the preparation of inhibitors are discussed and the prospects for the synthesis of inhibitors selective with respect to various NO-synthase isoforms are considered; these aspects largely determine the possibility of using these compounds in medicine. The structures of some classes of inhibitors are presented and their biological properties and the main applications for arresting pathological states are discussed.