Research output per year
Research output per year
Jingjing Wu, Paula Lorenzo, Siying Zhong, Muhammad Ali, Craig P. Butts, Eddie L. Myers, Varinder K. Aggarwal
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Small-molecule, biologically active natural products continue to be our most rewarding source of, and inspiration for, new medicines. Sometimes we happen upon such molecules in minute quantities in unique, difficult-to-reach, and often fleeting environments, perhaps never to be discovered again. In these cases, determining the structure of a molecule - including assigning its relative and absolute configurations - is paramount, enabling one to understand its biological activity. Molecules that comprise stereochemically complex acyclic and conformationally flexible carbon chains make such a task extremely challenging. The baulamycins (A and B) serve as a contemporary example. Isolated in small quantities and shown to have promising antimicrobial activity, the structure of the conformationally flexible molecules was determined largely through J-based configurational analysis, but has been found to be incorrect. Our subsequent campaign to identify the true structures of the baulamycins has revealed a powerful method for the rapid structural elucidation of such molecules. Specifically, the prediction of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters through density functional theory - combined with an efficient sequence of boron-based synthetic transformations, which allowed an encoded (labelled) mixture of natural-product diastereomers to be prepared - enabled us rapidly to pinpoint and synthesize the correct structures.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 436-440 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 547 |
Issue number | 7664 |
Early online date | 26 Jul 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Jul 2017 |
Research output: Contribution to journal › Short survey (Academic Journal) › peer-review
14/05/12 → 13/01/18
Project: Research
Supervisor: Aggarwal, V. (Supervisor), Myers, E. (Supervisor) & Butts, C. (Supervisor)
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Sadaf R Alam (Manager), Steven A Chapman (Manager), Polly E Eccleston (Other), Simon H Atack (Other) & D A G Williams (Manager)
Facility/equipment: Facility
Person: Academic , Member
Person: Academic , Member