Browsing by Subject "bioprospektering"

Marine invertebrates are a good and relatively unexplored source of bioactive compounds. These bioactive secondary metabolites can have unique structures and mechanisms of actions, since they are produced by organisms, which means their structures are not limited by the fantasy of chemists. Therefore, bioactive secondary metabolites isolated from marine invertebrates are attractive for drug development. Still, there are challenges regarding bioprospecting marine invertebrates. For example, the amount of material is limited and the environment as well as the biodiversity has to be taken into account when gathering the organisms. The aim of this thesis was to perform the first steps of bioprospecting marine invertebrates; extraction, fractionisation, analysis of bioactivity and identification of bioactive metabolites. The samples used in the experiment, gathered from three different locations, were of the sponge Caulophacus arcticus. The goal was not only to identify one or more bioactive metabolites for eventual further analysis, but also to compare the bioactivity of the samples gathered from different locations. The fractionisation was performed using flash fractionisation, which resulted in eight fractions of each extract. These fractions were tested for anticancer, antibacterial and biofilm inhibiting properties. The bioactivity of the fractions was analysed by performing cell viability assays (MTS assays) on four cell lines, antibacterial growth inhibition assays on five strains of bacteria and biofilm inhibition assays on biofilm of S. epidermidis. The active fractions, the fraction right before and after them and the corresponding fractions of the two other samples were further analysed using UHPLC-HR-MS, in order to identify eventually bioactive compounds and determine the elementary composition of these compounds. The most interesting fractions, from which one or more bioactive compounds were to be identified first, were prioritised based on the bioactivity assays. One compound, which was identified as potentially bioactive with a potentially novel elementary composition, was chosen as a target compound for further analysis. Based on the results, it was also possible to draw the conclusion that there were variations as well as similarities in the bioactivity of samples gathered from different locations. Still, further research is needed to determine if the bioactivity of the same fractions from different samples was caused by the same compounds or not. Even if there are challenges regarding bioprospecting of marine invertebrates, it is still useful to keep studying them in order to find new, bioactive compounds. There is a huge need of new drugs, especially for treating cancer and bacterial infections. Therefore, experiments such as this are relevant also in a bigger perspective. The target compound identified in the experimental part of this thesis might be further analysed in order to determine whether it is bioactive and whether it is profitable to develop it further.