Feature of a Publication of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (by the Group of Assoc. Prof. Victoria Magrioti)

The research group of Assoc. Prof. V. Magrioti of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with the group of Dr J.-F. Cavalier and Dr. S. Cannan of the Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Macromoléculaires, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, CNRS Marseille, France have published a series of medium and long-chain β-lactones in order to study their antimycobacterial activity (https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cmdc.201800720). Recently, this publication has been chosen to feature in Hot Topics 2020: Antimicrobials (bit.ly/cmc-2020-Antimicrobials) by the journal ChemMedChem. ChemMedChem is one of the most important journals that publish original research work on Medicinal Chemistry.

This project is part of the global research for novel agents against tuberculosis that is caused by Mycobecterium tuberculosis, either the natural strain or mutant strains that present resistance against known drugs.

The designed and synthesized b-lactones were either monosubstituted at the α- or β-position of the β-lactone ring or α,β-disubstituted. They were studied as racemic mixtures and several of them presented interesting activity against Mycobecterium tuberculosis and marinum, but minimal to no activity against M. abscessus. The collaboration of the two research groups continues by studying the antimycobacterial activity of optically pure β-lactones, as well as of other types of organic compounds.

For more information, please contact Assoc. Prof. Victoria Magrioti (vmagriot@chem.uoa.gr) or visit http://users.uoa.gr/~vmagriot/