Natural Products: The Inspiration for New Antibiotics
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
A large proportion of pharmaceuticals currently in use are either natural products or their derivatives e.g. antibiotics including the *-lactam penicillins and cephalosporins and macrolides such as erthyromycin and clarithromycin. However, there is an urgent need for new leads to antibiotics to combat the issues of antibiotic resistance.
In collaboration with scientists in the School of Biochemistry Bristol, this project will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the biosynthesis of polyketide derived natural products with antibiotic activities and developing clean and efficient methods for the preparation of analogues. This programme will include growing bacterial cultures, isolating and purifying the natural products (including minor products) by chromatography. The structures of novel compounds will be determined by modern spectroscopic methods (NMR and MS) and their biosynthetic pathways elucidated. New methods will be developed for the efficient synthesis of analogues of the natural products including biomimetic approaches.
In collaboration with scientists in the School of Biochemistry Bristol, this project will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the biosynthesis of polyketide derived natural products with antibiotic activities and developing clean and efficient methods for the preparation of analogues. This programme will include growing bacterial cultures, isolating and purifying the natural products (including minor products) by chromatography. The structures of novel compounds will be determined by modern spectroscopic methods (NMR and MS) and their biosynthetic pathways elucidated. New methods will be developed for the efficient synthesis of analogues of the natural products including biomimetic approaches.
Organisations
Publications
Walker PD
(2020)
A Priming Cassette Generates Hydroxylated Acyl Starter Units in Mupirocin and Thiomarinol Biosynthesis.
in ACS chemical biology
Walker PD
(2019)
Control of ß-Branching in Kalimantacin Biosynthesis: Application of 13 C NMR to Polyketide Programming.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Fage C
(2020)
The Kalimantacin Polyketide Antibiotics Inhibit Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Staphylococcus aureus by Targeting the Enoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Binding Site of FabI
in Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Davies JA
(2020)
Total Synthesis of Kalimantacin A.
in Organic letters
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EP/N509619/1 | 30/09/2016 | 29/09/2021 | |||
1943244 | Studentship | EP/N509619/1 | 30/09/2017 | 30/08/2021 | Angus Weir |