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Beyond possibly unraveling some of nature's ecological mysteries,
scientists agree that chemicals found in sea species offer hope of finding new ways to treat cancer, heart
disease, AIDS and other scourges of society. More than ten years ago, we launched an ambitious program
to collect and screen compounds from marine organisms that might show selective activity against certain
types of human tumors. Early efforts to find active substances in ocean dwellers have yielded drugs with
anti-viral activity, designed from unusual segments of DNA first found in a marine sponge in 1951.
Despite this encouraging early success, technical obstacles had until recently dampened optimism among researchers. Over the last few years, advances in methods to
detect and separate complex chemicals have led to increased sophistication in the science and generated solid evidence that there will indeed be marine pharmaceuticals. Moreover, discoveries of powerful new types of
chemicals in marine organisms have spurred greater cooperation among different scientific disciplines, as well as between academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.
Our project constitutes a unique effort to collect marine invertebrates (sponges, coelenterates, mollusks and tunicates) from the shallow and deep waters around Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands and to screen, isolate and determine the structure of new natural products from these organisms. Maximum efficiency and economy is achieved by combining field collection and pharmacological screening. Promising bioactive compounds are sent to research laboratories in the United States for advanced testing as potential pharmaceutials. Major activities include the collection of marine animals to be studied from all the highly productive marine areas of Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands.
In general; the active extracts will be fractionated using standard analytical and preparative separation techniques such as chromatography (GC, HPLC, TLC, CC) and recrystallization. Once the active principals are isolated, their structures will be determined by spectral methods (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, MS, IR, UV), chemical degradation and correlation methods and total synthesis when needed.
Selected Publications:
67. Marrero, J,
Ospina, CA, Rodriguez, AD, Baran, P, Zhao, H, Franzblau,
SG, Ortega-Barria, E. New Diterpenes of the Pseudopterane
Class from Two Closely Related Pseudopterogorgia
Species: Isolation, Structural Elucidation, and
Biological Evaluation. Tetrahedron 2006; 62: 6998-7008.
68.
Rodriguez, II, Rodriguez, AD, Wang, Y, Franzblau,
SG. Ileabethoxazole: a Novel Benzoxazole Alkaloid
with Antimycobacterial Activity. Tetrahedron Lett
2006; 47: 3229-3232.
69. Ospina, CA,
Rodriguez, AD. Bioactive Compounds from the Gorgonian
Briareum polyanthes. Correction of the Structures
of Four Asbestinane-Type Diterpenes. J Nat Prod
2006; 69: 1721-1727.
70. Iwamaru, A,
Iwado, E, Kondo, S, Newman, RA, Vera, B, Rodriguez,
AD, Kondo, Y. Eupalmerin Acetate, A Novel Anticancer
Agent from Caribbean Gorgonian Octocorals, Induces
Apoptosis in Malignant Glioma Cells via the c-Jun
NH2-terminal Kinase Pathway. Mol Cancer Ther 2007;
6: 184-192.
71. Ospina, CA,
Rodriguez, AD, Zhao, H, Raptis, RG. Bipinnapterolide
B, a Bioactive Oxapolycyclic Diterpene from the
Colombian Gorgonian Coral Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata.
Tetrahedron Lett 2007; 48: 7520-7523.
72. Wei,
X, Rodriguez, II, Rodriguez, AD, Barnes, CL.
Caribenols A and B: Sea Whip-Derived Norditerpenes
with Novel Tricarbocyclic Skeletons. J Org Chem
2007; 72: 7386-7389.
73. Mayer, AMS,
Rodriguez, AD, Berlinck, R, Hamann, MT. Marine
Pharmacology in 2003-4: Marine Compounds with Anthelminthic,
Antibacterial, Anticoagulant, Antidiabetic, Antifungal,
Anti-inflammatory, Antimalarial, Antiplatelet,
Antiprotozoal, Antituberculosis, and Antiviral
Activities; Affecting the Cardiovascular, Immune
and Nervous Systems, and other Miscellaneous Mechanisms
of Action. Comp Biochem Physiol 2007; 145: 553-581.
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