aciclovir

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
Chemical structure of aciclovir
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From acyclo(guanosine) +‎ -vir (antiviral).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

aciclovir (uncountable)

  1. (pharmacology) A cyclic synthetic nucleoside C8H11N5O3 used as an antiviral drug (trademarks Avirax, Zovirax) chiefly in the treatment of chicken pox, shingles, the genital form of herpes simplex, and AIDS.
    • 1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 443:
      In cells infected with the herpes virus, acyclovir is converted to a metabolic blocking agent, thereby largely overcoming the old and plaguing problem of toxicity to the host.
    • 2005, Donald Hall, The Best Day the Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 98:
      From the description, Letha felt sure Jane had herpes zoster, or shingles, which often strikes cancer patients or others with depressed immune systems. Jane spent another week in the Bubble, treated with acyclovir.

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]