Natural products are a versatile source for bioactive compounds. More than two thirds of all antibiotic classes in therapeutic application are derived from natural products, and natural products are also widely applied in tumor therapy.
NatResource, Tübingen’s natural product center, connects natural product isolating research groups (from Microbiology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy) with research groups (from Biology and Medical Faculty) characterizing the bioactive molecules.
Natural product research in Tübingen covers the identification of novel producer strains, compound purification and structure elucidation, analysis of biosynthetic pathways, and characterization of biological activities on the molecular level.
Tübingen’s natural product-based projects constitute corner stones of research consortia oriented at fundamental research. Studies on novel bioactive compounds lead to the identification of novel drug targets and improve our understanding of physiological functions in treated cells.
Natural products (or natural-product derived congeners) with therapeutic potential are pursued as lead structures for drug development in translational projects, in cooperation with the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the Tübingen Center for Academic Drug Discovery and Development (TüCAD2).
