Synthetic chemistry approach yields new compounds with potential biomedical applications

The study marks a significant advancement in chemical synthesis techniques, leveraging modern organic chemistry and engineered enzymes

10-May-2024 - Researchers at Rice University have successfully synthesized a group of natural compounds known as fusicoccanes. The molecules, found in various living organisms, exhibit diverse biological activities, including the ability to modulate protein-protein interactions within biological systems. The ...

A method to quickly enhance immune-system proteins

07-Nov-2018 - Rice University scientists have found a simple method to attach drugs or other substances to antibodies, the powerful proteins that are central to the body's immune system. The Rice lab of bioengineer Han Xiao developed a technique called pClick, which uses a cross-linker that snaps to a specific ...

Motorized molecules drill through cells

01-Sep-2017 - Motorized molecules driven by light have been used to drill holes in the membranes of individual cells and show promise for either bringing therapeutic agents into the cells or directly inducing the cells to die. Researchers at Rice, Durham (U.K.) and North Carolina State universities ...

Magnetized viruses attack harmful bacteria

03-Aug-2017 - Magnetic nanoparticle clusters have the power to punch through biofilms to reach bacteria that can foul water treatment systems, according to scientists at Rice University and the University of Science and Technology of China. The nanoclusters developed through Rice's Nanotechnology-Enabled Water ...

Scientists seek to engineer chatter among cells

24-Jul-2017 - Communities of cells communicate to coordinate their actions, but how do they coordinate with other communities? Scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston are preparing to find out. Rice synthetic biologist Matthew Bennett and University of Houston mathematician Krešimir Josić ...

Greener molecular intermediates may aid drug design

07-Jul-2017 - Scientists at Rice University have simplified their approach to synthesize a highly versatile family of precursors en route to biologically active compounds. Their method should make drug design and development cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Synthetic chemist László Kürti and ...

Bacterium from coal mine fire could aid drug targeting

08-Feb-2017 - Chemists scouring Appalachia for exotic microorganisms that could yield blockbuster drugs have reported a unique find from the smoldering remains of a coal mine fire that's burned for nearly a decade in southeastern Kentucky. In new findings a research team from Rice University, the University of ...

For chemicals, mega is out and bio is in

Engineers weigh in on ‘smaller is better’ chemical production

11-Jan-2017 - Ramon Gonzalez sees flares burning methane from the stacks above Houston’s refineries and thinks, “What a waste.”He believes that methane represents an opportunity for biomanufacturing that should not be missed. The Rice University professor and director of its new Advanced Biomanufacturing ...

Synthetic enzymes could help ID proteins

'Smart' catalysts programmed to recognize specific molecular shape

03-May-2010 - Using a rare metal that's not utilized by nature, Rice University chemists have created a synthetic enzyme that could help unlock the identities of thousands of difficult-to-study proteins, including many that play key roles in cancer and other diseases. The research was published online in the ...

Rice physicists kill cancer with 'nanobubbles'

08-Feb-2010 - Using lasers and nanoparticles, scientists at Rice University have discovered a new technique for singling out individual diseased cells and destroying them with tiny explosions. The scientists used lasers to make "nanobubbles" by zapping gold nanoparticles inside cells. In tests on cancer cells, ...