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...
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...
My investigations of the natural products of marine algae have resulted in
the discovery of several new secondary metabolites. Bioassay-guided
fractionation led to the isolation of these new compounds and spectroscopic
analysis was utilized in their structural characterization.
Two new and potent antimitotic metabolites, curacins B and C, were
isolated...
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 my explorations into the field of natural products chemistry. These investigations led to the discovery of several novel secondary metabolites isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula. In addition, biosynthetic investigations were undertaken using stable isotope-labeled precursors. The dominant role that NMR spectroscopy plays...
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,...
The 3-substituded indolic enamide moiety has been found in many marine compounds over the past 20 years. These indolic enamides exhibit various biological properties such as cytotoxic, anthelmintic, antimicrobial and HW-inhibitory activities. Among these indolic enamides, some are (E)-enamides, like coscinamide A and coscinamide B, others are (Z)-configuration in their...
This thesis is an investigation of the natural products deriving from marine algae and cyanobacteria and has resulted in the discovery of eleven new secondary metabolites. The structure elucidations of these new molecules were performed using a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Four new macrolides were isolated and characterized from the...