Laboratory of Natural Product Chemistry

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NATURAL PRODUCT TOTAL SYNTHESIS

Natural product total synthesis provides a platform to access complex and privileged architectures with unique target-specific activities. Our research allows us to study biosynthetic pathways, modulate biological function, and explore chemical diversity for the purposes of efficient access to complex scaffolds and medicinally relevant analogs. 

Chemoenzymatic

​Combining synthesis and enzymatic chemistry is a powerful method for efficient synthesis. We develop catalysts from polyketide biosynthesis as reagents for rapid chemoenzymatic synthesis of fine and specialty chemicals as well as natural products.

Medicinal 

We use organic synthesis to access complex natural products. Through SAR and rational design we synthesize their analogs for the purpose of evaluating and optimizing their pharmacological potential.

Biomimetic 

We use biomimetic synthesis to test biosynthetic hypotheses as well as develop new approaches to accessing biosynthetically intractable functional groups.  Some of the targets we have work on include the [4.3.0] bicyclic compound spiculoic acid A, as well as the dihydropyran and tetrahydropyran containing compounds laulimalide and neopeltolide.

Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis

​We use solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) to access non ribosomal peptide natural products and their analogs for biological evaluation. We also employ this technology to access key motifs used in bioconjugation chemistry.

NATURAL PRODUCT BIOSYNTHESIS

We address the antibiotic resistance crisis through the study of molecular mechanisms of action and the characterization of biosynthetic pathways. Our research employs chemical and synthetic biology as tools to answer questions of how microorganisms construct complex, biologically active molecules and how these molecules induce antibacterial activity in vivo. ​