[The pharmaceutical chemistry of azole antifungals.].

Azole antifungals are a group of compounds that play essential rule in the treatment of surface and deep mycoses. They can be used externally to treat fungal infections of skin, mucous membranes and external genitalia but they are also suitable for oral treatment of systemic mycoses. Structurally they are classified into two groups: imidazoles and triazoles. Triazole antimycotics have wider spectrum of activity, favorable pharmacokinetics, they are of milder side effects and sofar less developed anti-fungal resistance. This paper provides an overview on the history, synthe- sis, physico-chemical properties, structure-activity relationships of azole antifungals but it also deals with their pharmacological properties and mechanism of action.