Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry Blog

There is a need to develop new antibiotics to combat the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens. In bacteria, polyamine analogues can compete with natural polyamines to affect key cellular processes. Taking inspiration from the antibacterial properties of bromotyrosine-derived alkaloids isolated from the marine sponge (Subarea ianthelliformis), a recent paper reports the synthesis and antibacterial activity of a library of 39 new ianthelliformisamine analogues.

The library was synthesised by combining 3-phenylacrylic acid derivatives with Boc-protected polyamines. The antibacterial activities of the library compounds were tested in vitro using standard techniques. Some synthetic ianthelliformisamine analogues were more potent against gram positive and gram negative bacteria than their parent natural products.

To find out more read:

Syntheses of a library of molecules on marine natural product ianthelliformisamines platform and their biological evaluations
Faiz Ahmed Khan, Saeed Ahmad, Naveena Kodipelli, Gururaj Shivange and Roy Anindya
DOI: 10.1039/C3OB42537A, Paper;