Research Success: On the Path to a New Reserve Antibiotic
Chemists at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg have achieved an important research breakthrough in the fight against resistant bacteria. For the first time, key building blocks of the natural substance Neosorangicin A have been successfully synthesized in the laboratory. This milestone enables the targeted further development of Neosorangicin A as a promising candidate for a reserve antibiotic to effectively combat antibiotic resistance.
To artificially produce this natural active compound, the scientists utilized a relay synthesis: instead of constructing the entire complex molecule all at once, they first synthesized crucial fragments that served as intermediate stations on the way to the complete substance. The success of this research lies not only in the produced building blocks themselves, but equally in proving the underlying synthetic pathway.
“We are dealing with a molecule that is biologically extremely fascinating, but chemically extraordinarily difficult to access,” explains CDS - Member Prof. Dieter Schinzer. “The newly developed synthetic route is the prerequisite for targeted modifications to make the natural compound more stable, thereby rendering it usable for further drug development in the first place.”
While there is still a long way to go before reaching an effective medication, the chemist emphasizes that the successful synthesis of Neosorangicin A provides a crucial foundation: it makes a previously hard-to-access natural product chemically available and adaptable. This paves the way for future developments of more stable variants, biological activity testing, and the systematic investigation of potential new drug candidates.
The findings were published in the renowned scientific journal Chemistry – A European Journal (Wiley-VCH). The research project received support under the title "KMU-innovativ-21: NEOSORA", funded in part by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as well as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
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