Unnatural aza-artemisinin analog syntheses

Hiroki Oguri and co-workers from the University of Tokyo have reported in JOC on the synthesis of some nitrogen-containing artemisinin analogs. One of their racemic aza-analogs had more potent activity than artesunate.

 

JOC paper

Vancomycin derivative

Here’s a report on a vancomycin derivative with a pyrophosphate binding group reported by Jayanta Haldar and co-workers at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

 

ACIE paper

Why natural products are important (an update)

Remember that natural products review by David Newman and Gordon Cragg from the NIH?

 

Here is an updated (2016) one covering new chemical entities, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, antiparasitic, and anticancer from 1981 to 2014:

 

JNP paper

Nuphar alkaloid chemical biology

Jimmy Wu and co-workers reported in ACIE on the formal synthesis of nuphar alkaloids and their apoptotic activity. Did you know that the second “p” in “apoptosis” is silent and it is pronounced “apa-tosis”? The Greek word “apoptosis” means “falling off” or “dropping off” of flower petals or tree leaves.

 

ACIE paper

Using carbon dating to show that tramadol is NOT a natural product afterall

Remember that debate whether tramadol was really a natural product or not? Michael Spiteller and co-workers at TU Dortmund used accelerator mass spectrometry to analyze the isotopes of carbon found in tramadol found in the soil to show that tramadol is NOT a natural product. This is all based on the fact that natural organic compounds that are biosynthesized in living organisms contain amounts of 14C-radioisotope close to that of the environment.

ACIE paper

Another validation for natural product research

The nobel prize in medicine announcement was made and the trio of winners (Satoshi Omura (avermectin), William Campbell (ivermectin), and Youyou Tu) had done natural product isolation work – one was Youyou Tu, the Chinese woman who discovered artemisinin (half of the prize)! An exciting win for natural product research!

CO-Releasing molecules (CORMs)

Hans-Günther Schmalz and co-workers from Universität zu Köln have reported in ACIE on some small molecules that release carbon monoxide upon reacting with protease.

ACIE paper

Combining chemical and enzymatic synthesis

Kevin Reynolds and co-workers from Portland State University have reported in JOC on the synthesis of premarineosin analogs using a chemo-enzymatic approach.

JOC paper

Monodihydrosterculin

Ehud Landau and co-workers at the University of Zurich have reported in ACIE on the use of a cyclopropane-containing lipid to crystallize membrane proteins.

ACIE paper

On tramadol

Michael Spiteller and co-workers at TU Dortmund have reported in ACIE that tramadol is actually not a natural product. This study just points out the importance of uncovering the biosynthesis pathways of natural products.

 

ACIE paper

 

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