Carbohydrates Commons^™

Reversible Glucan Phosphorylation In The Red Alga, Cyanidioschyzon Merolae, Corey Owen Brizzee

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Starch and glycogen are an essential component for the majority of species and have been developed to maintain homeostasis in response to environmental changes. Water-soluble glycogen is an excellent source of quick, short-term energy in response to energy demands. In contrast, plants and algae have developed the macromolecule starch that is elegantly suitable for their dependence on external circumstances. Semi-crystalline starch is water-insoluble and inaccessible to most amylolytic enzymes, thus plants and algae have developed a coordinated system so that these enzymes can gain access to the denser starch energy cache. Starch-like semi-crystalline polysaccharides are also found in red algae, …

Chemoenzymatic Studies To Enhance The Chemical Space Of Natural Products, Jhong-Min Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Natural products provide some of the most potent anticancer agents and offer a template for new drug design or improvement with the advantage of an enormous chemical space. The overall goal of this thesis research is to enhance the chemical space of two natural products in order to generate novel drugs with better in vivo bioactivities than the original natural products.

Polycarcin V (PV) is a gilvocarcin-type antitumor agent with similar structure and comparable bioactivity with the principle compound of this group, gilvocarcin V (GV). Modest modifications of the polyketide-derived tetracyclic core of GV had been accomplished, but the most …