Mimicking Mother Nature

Synthetic Chemist Erik Sorensen:

Building Healing Molecules

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Sorensen Emulates Nature

Synthetic chemist Erik Sorensen creates molecules to heal disease

Nature’s chemicals

• May hurt or heal

• Are the sources of many medicines

• Can be synthesized by scientists

Question:

Can chemical weapons be helpful?

Photo: Brian Wilson

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Answer: Yes

Chemical weapons can be helpful

• Snakes, spiders, and sea snails use venom to kill prey

• Hemlock trees protect themselves with poison

• Bacteria and fungi use toxins to fight enemies

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Nature’s Chemical Weapons

• Kill prey

• Protect from predators

• Reduce competition for resources

• Kill viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells

• Suppress the immune system

• Treat heart disease and depression

Chemicals from plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria

In nature

In medicine

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From Plant to Medicine

In nature, foxglove is poisonous. In medicine, it is used to make digoxin, a drug used for heart failure and irregular heartbeat

In nature, opium is a beautiful flower. In medicine, it is used to make morphine, a strong painkiller

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From Mold to Medicine

• Penicillin is a common antibiotic used to cure infections

• The penicillin molecule started its life as a mold

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How to Make a Molecule

Step 1: Know all the atoms in the target molecule, how they connect to each other, and how they fit together in 3-dimensional space

Step 2: Choose a few starting materials (atoms) and pour or scoop them one-by-one into a glass flask

Step 3: Design a series of chemical reactions that will convince the atoms to form the target molecule by attaching at the correct places, releasing unneeded parts, or correctly swapping one atom for another

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Adapting to Nature in Short Supply

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Cyclostreptin: a Self-Made Molecule

• A molecule with potential cancer-killing properties

• Structure is 6 chemical rings with a backbone of 5-6 carbon atoms

• The molecule’s name

  • Cyclo: rings are fused together in a complicated arrangement

  • Streptin: substance was isolated from Streptomyces bacteria

• A rare, synthesized molecule, in that it can spontaneously fold into its final form

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Tools and Techniques

• Chemical reactions

• Bioprospecting

• Magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray crystallography

How do these tools help synthetic chemists?

What are some of the ways scientists do this?

What tools unavailable in nature can chemists use to help them make nature’s molecules?

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Research Applications

What are some of the concerns of people who are opposed to bioprospecting?