Record reaction cascade yields cancer drug candidate
Monday, December 26, 2011 - 07:30
in Health & Medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- New active substances can be produced quickly and efficiently with the help of reaction cascades. Once set in motion, these processes lead to the desired end product via a series of intermediate steps which take place in one go in a single reaction vessel. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund have achieved a new world record in cascade synthesis: they succeeded in synthesising complex biologically active substances, Centrocountins, in twelve successive steps. These substances inhibit cell division and could provide new options for the development of antitumour drugs.