Synthesis and characterisation of biologically active compounds
Biologically active compounds can be synthesised in a laboratory using a range of classical and modern reactions. Compounds can be individually synthesised or synthesised in parallel. Collections of compounds synthesised can be diverse libraries, for lead identification, or more focused for lead optimisation.
Lead identification involves the screening of compounds which ideally are structurally diverse. These can be natural products or are a diverse collection of synthesised compounds either from in‑house activities or purchased from suppliers. Lead optimisation involves the maximising the biological activity and pharmaceutical properties whilst minimising side effects. The effect of changes to a lead compound can be modelled in silico prior to selecting the best candidates. Once synthesized and purified, the structure of these new chemical entities can be characterised by a host of techniques including NMR spectroscopy, small molecule X-ray crystallography and mass spectrometry. The compounds can then be assayed using a variety of in vitro techniques prior to in vivo evaluation.
A wide range of facilities is thus required, given the depth and breadth of medicinal chemistry. Various equipment and laboratory-based facilities as described in the facilities section sustain the research strengths of the Department.
Related projects
- Adenosine receptor ligands as cardiovascular drugs
- Anti-infective agents
- Anti-inflammatory agents
- Novel routes to synthetic opiates
- Tropane-based templates in peptidomimetic design
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