Researchers crack the synthetic code of rare molecules sought after in drug development

Glionitrin A and B are two molecules with properties that make them useful in drug development. However, researchers who want to use these molecules have faced an uphill battle for almost a decade.

Glionitrin A and B are natural products, and are produced a fungus found in extremely contaminated acidic wastewater from an abandoned South Korean mine. Since the fungus only creates the molecules when triggered by specific bacteria from the same sewage, it has proved difficult to produce .

"We have been working on this problem for four years. Every time we thought we had a solution, the molecules revealed unexpected properties that sent us back to the drawing board," says Daniel Strand, chemistry researcher at Lund University.

Despite the complex nature of the problem, the solution proved to be both simpler and more effective than the researchers thought. By developing a new so-called asymmetric organocatalytic reaction, Daniel Strand and his colleagues succeeded in the most inaccessible parts of the molecules.

"we thought the problem was solved, the molecule had one last surprise. It turned out that the real structure was the mirror image of we initially thought was glionitrin A. So, all this time we had chased a molecule that ," says Daniel Strand.

Complex natural products with unique properties such as glionitrin A and B are important tools in develop.

Glionitrin A has shown antibiotic properties against resistant bacteria, while glionitrin B makes cancer cells less to migrate. Being able to produce the molecules synthetically helps researchers not only understand how they work, but also improve their properties.

"There is a great need for new types of antibiotics, especially those that can contribute to the fight against resistant bacteria. We expect our results to inspire further development basic synthetic chemistry but also to be used in drug development," concludes Daniel Strand.