Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Metabolic Profiling to Determine Bactericidal or Bacteriostatic Effects of New Natural Products using Isothermal Microcalorimetry
Published on: October 29, 2020
Design, Synthesis, and Phenotypic Profiling of Pyrano-Furo-Pyridone Pseudo Natural Products
Andreas Christoforow1,2, Julian Wilke1,2, Aylin Binici1,2
1Department of Chemical Biology, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Physiology, Otto-Hahn-Straße 11, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.
Abstract:
Natural products (NPs) inspire the design and synthesis of novel biologically relevant chemical matter, for instance through biology-oriented synthesis (BIOS). However, BIOS is limited by the partial coverage of NP-like chemical space by the guiding NPs. The design and synthesis of "pseudo NPs" overcomes these limitations by combining NP-inspired strategies with fragment-based compound design through de novo combination of NP-derived fragments to unprecedented compound classes not accessible through biosynthesis. We describe the development and biological evaluation of pyrano-furo-pyridone (PFP) pseudo NPs, which combine pyridone- and dihydropyran NP fragments in three isomeric arrangements. Cheminformatic analysis indicates that the PFPs reside in an area of NP-like chemical space not covered by existing NPs but rather by drugs and related compounds. Phenotypic profiling in a target-agnostic "cell painting" assay revealed that PFPs induce formation of reactive oxygen species and are structurally novel inhibitors of mitochondrial complex I.
Related Concept Videos
Nature and Nurture
Group Design
What is Natural Selection?
Synthesis and Decomposition Reactions
Biopharmaceutical Factors Influencing Drug Product Design: Overview
Dehydration Synthesis
Dehydration synthesis (also called a condensation reaction) is the chemical process in which two molecules covalently link together to form a new molecule, along with the release of a water molecule. Many physiologically important compounds form by dehydration synthesis reactions, such as complex carbohydrates, proteins, DNA, and RNA.
Synthesis of carbohydrates
Sugar molecules are covalently linked together by dehydration synthesis. During the reaction, the hydroxyl (-OH) group from...

