New progresses in the enantioselective synthesis and biological properties of carbocyclic nucleosides.

The recent advances in the chemistry of carbocyclic nucleosides focused on different synthetic approaches that lead to optically pure products as well as a comprehensive overview of their biological properties are discussed. In the latter aspect, molecular recognition of enzymes of pharmacological importance such as: reverse transcriptase, adenosine deaminase, thymidine kinase, DNA cytosine-C5 methyl transferase, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, etc are considered. The role of conformation and puckering of the glycon moiety in modulating the biological activity and also the use of carbanucleosides as building blocks to prepare oligonucleotides are carefully illustrated.