CHED 293 |
| Cancer affects thousands of people each year in the United States. In recent years, one method to identify potential chemotherapeutic agents has been the mass screening of natural products for cytotoxic activity. Melophlin A and methyllucidone were isolated in this manner. Melophlin A was isolated from a marine sponge and exhibited antiproliferative activity against leukemia cell lines. Methyllucidone, isolated from the fruits of Lindera erythrocarpa, was shown to strongly inhibit the growth of colon tumor cells. Both of these compounds work by inducing apoptosis, programmed cell death, in cancer cell lines. A unique feature of methyllucidone is that it has been shown to inhibit cancer via two pathways, apoptosis and farnesyl protein transferase inhibition. This project entails combining the structural features of both melophlin A and methyllucidone into a series of novel analogues. These compounds will incorporate the 2,4-pyrrolidinone core of melophlin A with the styryl side chain of methyllucidone. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session
2:30 PM-4:30 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |