Polyketides, Terpenoids and other compounds from natural sources
Background Information on our Research Objectives: Why we consider natural products to be relevant.
Natural products make good drugs.
The majority of anticancer and anti-infective drugs are either natural products or natural-product analogues and derivatives (Newman & Cragg, 2012).
On top, they provide a fascinatingly complex field of research involving chemical, biological, and pharmaceutical concepts and techniques.
“Our grandparents lived during an ear without effective antibiotics. We don’t want the same situation for our grandchildren” (World Health Organization, 2001)
The world health organization and many other institutions report a dramatic increase of infections by pathogens that are resistant to current antibiotics. Furthermore, cancer rates are increasing, calling for novel therapeutic options.
Academic research on natural products is highly needed to address these challenges.
Our research on polyketides and terpenoids targets the following objectives:
Natural Products require Derivatization to become clinically relevant.
Many natural compounds are in scarce supply: Their availability must be improved.
The following links will give you access to information from the WHO and many other organizations which monitor health-related data worldwide. The data show the need for the development of novel drugs that can fight infectious diseases or cancer. Natural products could help modern medicine in achieving this goal but require intense research efforts.
- WHO: Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance 2014
- WHO report on infectious diseases , WHO report finds systems to combat antibiotic resistance lacking
- The GLOBOCAN project: Cancer incidence rates worldwide
- European Commission - Public Health: Antibiotic Resistance
- Robert-Koch-Institut
- Europäischer Antibiotikatag / European Antibiotic Awareness Day
- Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Antibiotic Development: The 10 x '20 Initiative
- CORRECT!V MRSA.
-
Nature News: Antibiotic resistance marching across Europe
Helpful review articles on natural product research are listed here:
- Natural products as sources of new drugs over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010.
- The evolving role of natural products in drug discovery
- Drug discovery and natural products: end of an era or an endless frontier?
- From protein domains to drug candidates-natural products as guiding principles in the design and synthesis of compound libraries.
- Biology-oriented synthesis: harnessing the power of evolution.
- Antibiotics for emerging pathogens.
Fakultät für Chemie und Biochemie
