Professor of Organic Chemistry
Tel: +30 2810 545026
Fax: +30 2810 545001
E-mail: kater@chemistry.uoc.gr
Link to Group page: http://www.chemistry.uoc.gr/katerinopoulos
1. Synthesis of Fluorescent Ion Indicators.
Our contribution to this field includes the synthesis of a number of fluorescent probes for intracellular ions. Initial experiments performed by the author during his post doctoral work at Smith Kline and French Labs (USA), aimed at the synthesis of calcium probes with improved fluorescent properties than those already available in the market such as fura-2. This project ended successfully with the synthesis of a number of intracellular calcium probes such as FuraRed and FuraRed-AM which were patented by SKF Labs and are currently commercially available (Handbook of Fluorescent Probes and Research Chemicals, Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR, USA).
This project was continued in our laboratory resulting in the preparation of seven new calcium probes including BTC and BTC-AM, with improved properties (chemical stability, fluorescence profile) incorporating the coumarin chromophore. The inventorship on these materials has been granted by a joint patent with Molecular Probes-USA. A number of structural modifications on the above mentioned compounds led to further improved calcium as well as magnesium ion probes such as APTRA-BTC and APTRA BTC-AM. A third project on zinc probes in collaboration with the University of Iowa yielded a number of zinc robes such as ICPBC-Zin.
We have recently completed the design and synthesis of ratiometric and “turn-on” probes for lead and mercury.
2. Isolation and Structure Determination of Components from Aromatic and Pharmaceutical Plants from the Flora of Crete.
This project that has been financed from various sources, targets the systematic characterization of the active ingredients from plants with known aromatic and/or pharmaceutical properties and the total synthesis of isolated new natural products.
The shrub of labdanum ( Cistus creticus L., subspecies creticus), a plant that grows only in a few areas of the Mediterranean and it is known for its pharmaceutical properties, was initially selected as a representative species. The project was extended in a study of the components from a second subspecies of the plant (ssp. Eriocephalus) aiming at the chemotaxinomic differentiation of the two subspecies, as a part of a project in collaboration with the local Chamber of Commerce. We also studied the composition of the essential oils of a number of plants (Lavandula stoechas L., Salvia fructicosa Miller, Laura sp, Rosmarinus officinalis L) in collaboration with the local Plant Protection Institute. The total synthesis of Drymenene , a proposed component of Cistus creticus L., has been reported in the literature.
Our group expanded its activities in the study of aromatic and pharmaceutical plants with tasks such as:
This program was terminated in 2001. It included the total synthesis of compounds which incorporate the dopamine moiety in a larger carbon framework. In vitro (binding and functional ) studies of this analogs provided valuable information on the relation of their activity to structural elements such as O-N distance, dihedral angles and oxygen and nitrogen substitution within the dopamine group. The discovery that a number of these compounds also exhibited adrenergic activity prompted us to extend our studies to a1 and a2 adrenergic receptors. Our methodology involved "Selected Disconnections" on known active compounds such as ABBOT-68930 leading to less complex molecules. Results from SAR studies on such compounds provided valuable information on the "active moiety" of the mother molecules, leading to the synthesis of drugs with optimized activity and higher selectivity.