Research interests
New drugs begin in the laboratory with scientists who identify cellular and genetic factors that play a role in specific diseases. In the next step the search for chemical and biological substances that target these biological markers and are likely to have drug-like effects are looked for by the scientists in pharmaceutical disciplines. Out of every 5000 new compounds identified during the discovery process, only five are considered safe for testing in human volunteers after preclinical evaluations. After three to six years of further clinical testing in patients, only one of these compounds is ultimately approved as a marketed drug for treatment. Thus, the complexity of the drug discovery process demands a continuous recruitment of efforts to increase its effectiveness and success.
In our group at Åbo Akademi we are focusing our research interests on the initial stages of the drug development process, and particularly from natural products. Some examples of our current research interests are:
- screening for acetylcholine-esterase and butyrylcholine- esterase inhibitors from natural products or synthetic libraries and bioactivity- guided HPLC microfractionation of active products from natural sources
- screening for compounds inhibiting biofilms formation by Staphylococcus spp. (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis)
- toxicity screening of natural products or synthetic libraries using GT1-7 immortalized hypothalamic cells- based model
- target identification, validation and bioactivity screening assays in Chlamydia pneumoniae studies
- HPLC-MS analysis of polyphenols, particularly lignans in biological fluids and plant extracts.
At the moment, the screening campaigns can be performed in our lab using a BIOMEK 3000 liquid- handling workstation (Beckmann Coulter Inc., USA) in combination with a Combi Multidrop dispenser (Thermo Electron Corporation, USA), that is available for sterile dispensing of cell suspensions or other reagents on various plate formats. Also, conditions for mammalian and bacterial cell cultures in our lab are available through the common facilities of the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacy here at Åbo Akademi University. Chromatographic studies are conducted with the instrumentation kindly facilitated by the Laboratory of Lipid and Membrane Biochemistry belonging to our Department. The fraction collection is performed either on tubes or on microtiter well plates (for further biomolecular screening) by the use of a FC 204 fraction collector (Gilson, Inc. USA). In addition, the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacy has been recently equipped with an HPLC- ion trap- MS instrument and our Laboratory has further access to an HPLC- tandem MS and an HPLC- QTOF- MS instruments.