Meet the editors

Jorge António Ribeiro Salvador has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a Master's degree in Organic and Technological Chemistry, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He has a position as Full Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal, and is a non-executive member of the board of CHEM4PHARMA, a start-up pharmaceutical company located in Portugal. His research activity is focused on the development

of new drugs, mainly for cancer treatment. He has published about 100 SCI journal papers, 13 book chapters, and 10 patents (two US patents). In addition, he is the author/coauthor of 250 presentations in national and international conferences and workshops. Over the last few years he has conducted several research projects in the field of pharmaceutical/medicinal chemistry, which have contributed to his significant expertise in drug discovery.

Maria Manuel Cruz Silva has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a Master's degree in Drugs Technologies, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Coimbra in collaboration with the CNR, Milan, Italy. She has a position as Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Her research is currently devoted to the synthesis of novel bioactive steroids. She is the author and coau-

thor of 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals and three book chapters.

Contents

**Preface III**

**Chapter 1 1**

**Chapter 2 5**

**Chapter 3 37**

**Chapter 4 63**

**Chapter 5 87**

**Chapter 6 111**

Introductory Chapter: Chemistry and Biological Activity

Estrone Sulfatase Inhibitors as New Anticancer Agents *by Svetlana N. Morozkina and Alexander G. Shavva*

*by Maria Manuel Cruz Silva and Jorge António Ribeiro Salvador*

Biotransformation of Steroids Using Different Microorganisms *by Arturo Cano-Flores, Javier Gómez and Rigoberto Ramos*

Control of Liver Gene Expression by Sex Steroids and Growth

*by Leandro Fernández-Pérez, Mercedes de Mirecki-Garrido, Carlota Recio* 

Role of Androgens in Cardiovascular Diseases in Men: A Comprehensive

Steroid-Based Supramolecular Systems and their Biomedical Applications:

*by Dilip Mukherjee, Koushik Sen, Shreyasi Gupta, Piyali Chowdhury,* 

of Steroids - Scope and Overview

Hormone Interplay

*and Borja Guerra*

*by Ruilong Sheng*

*Suravi Majumder and Payel Guha*

Biomolecular Recognition and Transportation

Review

## Contents


Preface

*Chemistry and Biological Activity of Steroids* puts together recent contributions of scientific research to understand the physiological roles of steroids and discover

The chapters that compose this book encompass the biotransformations of steroids, taking advantage of the striking regio- and stereoselectivity of oxidizing enzymes affording functionalized steroids that would be very difficult to obtain by

Estrone sulfatase is a clinically validated drug target in estrogen-dependent cancers and its inhibition by synthetic steroids is reviewed. The role of steroids in the somatotropic–liver axis, intermediate metabolism, or gender dimorphism is also discussed. Finally, exploitation of the steroid structure to develop supramolecular

The editors sincerely thank the authors, who have shared their knowledge through-

**Maria Manuel Cruz Silva**

Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Coimbra,

Coimbra, Portugal

**Jorge António Ribeiro Salvador**  Laboratório de Química Farmacêutica,

Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular,

systems and nanomaterials for biomedical application is examined.

new bioactive steroidal molecules.

conventional methods.

out the chapters of this book.
