# NEW ANTIBIOTICS--ISOLATION, SYNTHESIS, AND EVALUATION

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE · 1990 · $248,616

## Abstract

The goal of this research is to study the antimicrobial agents present in
higher plant extracts in order to discover antibiotics with novel
structures and novel modes of action and to determine their potential for
use in treatment of human infectious diseases.  Novel antibiotics are
especially sought for the treatment of contemporarily troublesome diseases
against which current fermentation-based antibiotics are not fully
satisfactory for reasons of toxicity, low potency, microbial resistance,
poor pharmacokinetic characteristics, and the like.  Central to this effort
is the obtention and botanical identification of suitable plant material,
extraction, screening against a battery of disease indicator organisms used
in industrial screening programs, bioassay directed fractionation,
physico-chemical structure determination, synthesis (where indicated for
structural clarification, preparation of substantial quantities,
optomization of structure-activity relationships, etc.), evaluation of in
vitro antimicrobial spectrum and potency in comparison with established
antibiotics and in vivo evaluation in infected experimental animals.  The
latter is usually done off-side by commercial pharmaceutical firms
possessing special facilities and expertise for this work.  In some cases
directed biosynthetic methodology is employed in order to prepare
especially desired target molecules.

The present emphasis of the primary screen is activity against
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, tuberculosis, yeast and fungi and
pseudomonads.  In secondary screens, venereal organisms, anaerobes,
Legionella and other pathogens are examined.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3125408
- **Project number:** 5R01AI013155-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** SSUJB3GSH8A5
- **Principal Investigator:** Lester A. Mitscher
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1990
- **Award amount:** $248,616
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1976-09-01 → 1992-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3125408

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3125408, NEW ANTIBIOTICS--ISOLATION, SYNTHESIS, AND EVALUATION (5R01AI013155-16). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3125408. Licensed CC0.

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