Stable heavy isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, and other elements have been incorporated into drug molecules, largely as tracers for quantitation during the drug development process. Deuteration has gained attention because of its potential to affect the pharmacokinetic and metabolic profiles of drugs[1].
References:
[1]. Russak EM, et al. Impact of Deuterium Substitution on the Pharmacokinetics of Pharmaceuticals. Ann Pharmacother. 2019;53(2):211-216.
[2]. Fredholm BB. Adenosine, an endogenous distress signal, modulates tissue damage and repair. Cell Death Differ. 2007;14(7):1315-1323.
[3]. Borea PA, Gessi S, Merighi S, Vincenzi F, Varani K. Pharmacology of Adenosine Receptors: The State of the Art. Physiol Rev. 2018;98(3):1591-1625.
[4]. Eltzschig HK. Adenosine: an old drug newly discovered. Anesthesiology. 2009;111(4):904-915.
[5]. Zhou XT, et al. Inhibition of autophagy enhances adenosine induced apoptosis in human hepatoblastoma HepG2 cells. Oncol Rep. 2019;41(2):829-838.