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Navigating through marine-derived fungi:

bioprospection and synthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites and analogues as chemotherapic agents

Principal Investigator
Group Leader

Madalena Maria Magalhães Pinto is a retired Full Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy (FFUP). She was coordinator at two Research Centers (CEQOFFUP and CEQUIMED); and currently is Researcher and Team Leader of the Group of Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry at Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Portugal. Previous roles include Head of the Laboratory of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and founder and Director of the Master’s Degree Course in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (FFUP). She was/is PI and member of several Research Projects, author/co-author of 6 patents, more than 260 research papers, 4 books and 14 book chapters. Her research focuses on Medicinal Chemistry, involving total synthesis and molecular modification of pharmacologically active compounds, based on molecular models of plant and marine sources (antifouling, antitumor, anticoagulant and antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antimicrobial, multidrug resistance reversal agents, etc.). She has a special interest in synthesis and bioenantioselectivity of chiral compounds, studies of structure-activity-properties relationship and molecular recognition of artificial receptors as new chiral stationary phases for liquid chromatography.

RESEARCH GROUPS:

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The need for a continued search for new anti-infective and anticancer drugs is universally considered of great importance since many of the current drugs are insufficiently effective, highly toxic, and resistances may be developed. Two alkaloids, being eurochevalierine a potent inhibitor of the growth of human tumor cell lines, were isolated from the soil fungus Neosartorya pseudofischeri, and neofiscalin A from the soil and marine fungus N. siamensis with potent antibacterial activity. Neofiscalin A exhibited also antibiofilm activity in both reference and multidrug-resistant isolates, and is currently in the patent filing process. These compounds and their derivatives are under study in order to obtain quantities as well as for more biological assays. On the other hand, marine fungi derived xanthones, particularly yicathins and isomers were considered promising as chemotherapic agents. So, eurochevalierine, neofiscalin A and yicathins can be considered very interesting models to discover new anti-infective and anticancer drugs to overcome drug-resistance that could represent innovative drug candidates. However, their availability to proceed to further investigations and their complex structures could limit their future as drug candidates. Our goal is not only to continue the search for innovative marine-derived compounds but also to obtain derivatives/formulations of the most promising compounds to obtain more efficient analogues and more effective delivery systems.

 

Project Sheet HERE

Leader Institution
CIIMAR-UP
Program
Compete 2020Portugal 2020
Funding
Other projects