Glycosylated diazeniumdiolates: a novel class of enzyme-activated nitric oxide donors

Synthetic procedures have been developed to attach the nitric oxide releasing diazeniumdiolate functional groups [N(O)NO]− to a carbohydrate unit. These glycosylated diazeniumdiolates exhibited significantly improved stability as compared to their parent diazeniumdiolate salts, yet they could readily release nitric oxide upon activation by glycosidases. Preliminary antitumor screen assay demonstrated that this class of compounds had antitumor activity.