Researchers from the "Compound synthesis" and "New formulations" teams of the group of Leishmania of the high school of Tropical Health of the University and the department of Chemistry Organic and Pharmaceutical of the School of Pharmacy, together with the team of Dr. Sánchez-Moreno of the University of Granada, have found 6 new organoselenical compounds as potential agents for the treatment of Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania infantum. Their high parasiticidal activity and their leave toxicity in vitro make them potential agents for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Several researchers from the teams of "Compound synthesis" and "New formulations" in leishmaniasis of the high school of Tropical Health of the University, in partnership with the department of parasitology of the School of Sciences of the University of Granada, have been working on the development of new organoselenics compounds for the treatment of Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania infantum. The current treatment of this disease has serious limitations due to its high toxicity, the emergence of resistance and the duration of therapy.

In this work a bookshop of 48 compounds with selenocyanate and diselenide functions is described. The leishmanicidal activity of all of them was evaluated in vitro in promastigote and amastigote forms of both Leishmania species. Of these 48 compounds, 6 were selected for combining in the same structure high potency and leave toxicity, and a preliminary study was made of their mechanism of action in relation to the affectation of cell metabolism and inhibition of the enzyme superoxide dismutase.

This work has resulted in the publication "Library of seleno-compounds as novel agents against Leishmania species" in Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy as result .

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