I have participated in a drug discovery program designed to screen marine algae for
inhibitors of cancer-related enzymes, antitumor compounds, antiinflammatory substances,
and other agents of potential pharmaceutical utility. Over 1,500 lipid and aqueous extracts
of marine plants and animals were surveyed for biomedical potential. Assays designed to
screen extracts...
This thesis details my investigations of marine cyanobacterial natural products that resulted in the discovery of eighteen new secondary metabolites. Isolation and characterization of these unique molecules were carried out using different chromatographic techniques and by careful analyses of 1D and 2D NMR data, respectively. Preliminary bioassays of the crude...
Marine algae have been recognized as a rich resource of new
and unusual organic molecules with diverse biological properties.
The current need to develop new antifungal, anticancer, antibiotic
and antiviral drugs has led to an intense research effort into the
discovery, isolation and structure determination of potential
medicinal agents from...
This thesis details investigations of marine cyanobacterial secondary metabolism, with emphasis on a strain of Phormidium sp. collected in Indonesia. These studies assessed the effects of nineteen putative elicitor compounds on the growth and metabolite production of five species of marine cyanobacteria, biosynthetic investigation of an intriguing secondary metabolite, phormidolide,...
Marine organisms produce a variety of secondary metabolites for defense, communication, and reproduction. While these uses are essential for the organisms' survival, marine natural products have demonstrated their value to human society as well. Asian countries used algae for centuries to treat or prevent illnesses as wide-ranging as cough, gout,...
This thesis details my investigations of marine cyanobacterial natural products that resulted in the discovery of thirteen new secondary metabolites, the isolation of over fifteen previously reported metabolites and the biosynthetic investigation of two additional cyanobacterial compounds. Two novel lipopeptides were identified from a Lyngbya majuscula and Schizothrix sp. assemblage...
The marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula has proven to be extraordinarily rich in bioactive secondary metabolites. This dissertation describes the chemistry of L. majuscula collected from Grenada, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and the biosyntheses of two L. majuscula metabolites, curacin A and barbamide.
The chemical studies with a Grenada collection...
This thesis is an account of investigation on the natural products deriving from various marine algae and has resulted in the discovery of eleven novel bioactive metabolites. Isolation and characterization of these new molecules were carried out using different chromatographic techniques and by analyses of different spectroscopic data, respectively. Using...
This thesis describes investigations of marine algal secondary metabolites, with particular interest in their biomedical and agrichemical potential. Invaluable in such pursuits have been the access and application of advanced spectroscopic techniques, such as NMR, and the ability to assess the biological activity of the algal samples in a variety...