The science of microbial molecules.
In a collaborative laboratory.
To advance natural product discovery.
Read more about what we do and how we do it.
What we do
In the Laboratory of Microbial Natural Products Biotechnology (Lab Azul) we investigate the chemistry of talented microbes, such as #cyanobacteria, as a source of natural products with potential use as pharmaceuticals.
We combine #bioprospecting tools such as #metabolomics and #genomics aiming at the discovery of bioactive compounds from the Brazilian biodiversity. Our collaborative research includes aspects of #naturalproductschemistry #pharmacognosy #chemicalbiology #biotechnology #pharmacology and #microbiology.
How we do it
We mix diversity and cooperation as key ingredients to foster creativity and motivation. We believe that empowered scientists ask better questions. Good questions lead to surprising connections. And those connections advance knowledge!
At the Lab Azul, we strive to build a healthy lab environment where individualities are appreciated and knowledge is developed together. We value the process of learning. We believe in the power of science and education as the basis for progress.
#scienceinprogress #scienceforprogress
Research
From antibiotic-resistant infections to untreatable cancers, new drugs are a continuous demand.
For an efficient drug discovery process, it is key to screen the most relevant chemical space. Natural products have long been recognized as an important source of therapeutic agents. Natural product-inspired compounds, represent more than 65% of current small-molecule drugs.
At the Lab Azul, we aim at enhancing drug discovery with biodiversity and technology.
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Bioprospecting cyanobacteria for natural products
Cyanobacteria are a taxonomically diverse phylum of microorganisms known to produce secondary metabolites with biotechnological potential. The chemistry of cyanobacteria from the Brazilian biodiversity remains largely underexplored, representing a promising source of unprecedented scaffolds. We are developing and screening a pre-fractionated library of cyanobacterial natural products for anticancer, antibiotic, and antiparasitic activities.
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Metabolomics and genomics applied to microbial natural products
Omics technologies combined with information solutions have opened new frontiers in natural products research. We apply metabolomics and genomics for sample prioritization, preliminary dereplication, compound identification, large-scale comparative analyses, etc. Novel natural products are isolated and subjected to structure elucidation.
Where are we?
Address
Rua do Lago, 250
Cidade Universitária - Butantã
São Paulo-SP 05508-000
Brazil
Contact Prof. Camila Crnkovic
Funding
