Final answer:
Prodrugs are drugs that require metabolic conversion in the body to release their active form. They are engineered to improve properties like solubility and stability, and hydrolysis is a metabolic process utilized by some prodrugs to become active.
Step-by-step explanation:
The name of the drugs that rely on metabolism to become active is a) Prodrugs. Prodrugs are compounds that undergo metabolic conversion in the body to release the active drug. They are designed to improve various pharmaceutical properties, like solubility and stability, but require metabolic actions to become active. For instance, some prodrugs are designed to have improved oral bioavailability, which means they are more effectively absorbed when taken by mouth. The development of prodrugs takes into account factors such as the pharmacogenomic make-up of the target population and the pathways involved in drug metabolism, to ensure efficacy and minimize toxicity. Hydrolysis is one of the metabolic processes that drugs like procaine and acetyl salicylic acid undergo to become effective treatments.