Medicinal Chemistry

Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is a G-protein-coupled receptor critical in regulating inflammation, pain, and physiological functions such as wound healing and epithelial barrier integrity. Chronic PAR2 activation contributes to numerous inflammatory and immune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), asthma, and arthritis, and plays a role in tumor progression by promoting proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis.

In recent decades there has been uprising interest in the medicinal properties of organoselenides. These ubiquitous structural have their wide applications in material sciences, in catalysis and modern organic transformations. Research studies have led to important discoveries regarding selective C–Se bond formation and in this context a notable approach is direct selenylation. In this regard, nitrogen- or oxygen-containing arenes with organoselenides have appeared as a very important class of molecules, with diverse applications in the biological sciences.

Throughout history, natural products have consistently proven to be invaluable sources of solutions for humanity, particularly regarding the development of treatments for diseases. If only small molecules are taken into consideration, almost half of the approved anti-cancer drugs since mid-last century are either natural products or compounds related to them in some way. Among the natural products that have gained increasing interest in recent decades are cannabinoids and related meroterpenoids. 

Neglected tropical diseases, such as Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, remain a critical global health problem, particularly in underprivileged communities. Our research aims to develop potential therapeutic agents by synthesizing and characterizing analogues of aureothin, a polyketide with known antiparasitic activity.

This study presents a methodology for bioactivity-guided fractionation of chemically modified Ambrosia tenuifolia extracts using mild derivatization conditions at room temperature. New trypanocidal compounds less toxic than the starting materials were obtained in a single reaction step. In addition, bioinformatics tools were used to identify potential biological targets for Trypanosoma cruzi, reducing the need for extensive biological testing.