Natural Products Chemistry

The Research

The Natural Products Chemistry group provides expertise in the identification and development of novel hit/lead-drug candidates from natural sources. Having a background in organic and medicinal chemistry, and advanced spectroscopic techniques, the isolation, structural elucidation and molecular derivatization of novel bioactive chemical scaffolds from plants are our major skills.
The research interests of the group include two main areas:
I – Cancer
Development of selective and effective P-glycoprotein (P-gp) modulators guided by in silico studies;
Discovery of compounds able to selectively kill multidrug-resistant cancer cells, overexpressing the drug efflux pump P-gp;
Development of effective apoptosis inducers;
II – Infectious diseases
Development of hit/lead compounds against infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, from African medicinal plants;
Development of efflux pump inhibitors of resistant bacteria.

Recent achievements of the Natural Products group at iMed.ULisboa.