Tiny antimicrobial systems, results from APOGEO in the journal Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis

The new article "Synthesis of Diketopiperazine Scaffolds with Tailored N- and α-Chains by Selective Modification of Customizable Units", published in the journal Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis analyzes recent results developed within the framework of the APOGEO project.

Tiny transport systems that carry phytosanitary products or drugs to fight pathogens are of great interest to the market. They may in themselves also be highly active against the micro-organisms that threaten our crops or our health. To achieve this goal, derivatives of the simplest peptides (diketopiperazines) have been designed, which consist of only two amino acids that form a relatively rigid cyclic molecule. Diketopiperazine can have up to four substitutes, as shown in the picture. When there are four chains, they are arranged in space so that two are oriented below the cycle plane, and the other two in the same plane or above it. This allows for systems in which two chains are used for "anchoring" in the biological targets, and the other two for carrying the products (plant health products, drugs, probes).

However, manufacturing these small cycles with four substituent groups is very difficult, especially if some of the substituents are bulky. In that case, high temperature conditions or treatments with highly reactive molecules etc. are required. On the other hand, with the method reported in the high-impact journal Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis, with funding from the APOGEO project, it is possible to manufacture these "tailor-made" compounds with four different chains, and with very large substituents. What is more, this is done under very mild conditions at low temperature, providing good yields of the desired products with high purity. This methodology opens the doors to creating collections of phytosanitary products that will be tested in APOGEO. For further information, please visit the link to this article

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sistemas antimicrobianos