■ Introduction to Research〓 Research Area : Applied Natural Product Chemistry

Solid-Supported Combinatorial and Parallel Synthesis
of Bioactive Compound Libraries.
The solid-phase strategy is a strong tool for high throughput synthesis and combinatorial chemistry. Synthetic intermediates are retained on the support and can be, therefore, quickly separated
from the reaction mixture without extraction, concentration, and purification steps. Solid-phase
synthesis is thus particularly advantageous
for multi-step iterative synthesis. Various
solid-phase automated synthesizers havebeen developed and are now commerciallyavailable. Our research focus on automatedsynthesis of bioactive compound and building-up of compound libraries by automaticsynthesizer Nautilus 2400.

Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis of glycosides andglycoconjugate.

〓 Assoc. Prof.
IZUMI Minoru

Galactofuranose is a component of polysaccharides and glycoconjugates. There are few reports
about the involvement of galactofuranosyltransferases and galactofuranosidases in the synthesis
and degradation of galactofuranose-containing glycans. The cell walls of filamentous fungi in thegenus Aspergillus include galactofuranose-containing polysaccharides and glycoconjugates, suchas O-glycans, N-glycans, and fungal-type galactomannan, which are important for cell wall integrity. Our research interests focus on many problems that lie at the integrity of cell wall, we are especially investigating themethodology to synthesize glycosides and glycoconjugates by chemo-enzymatic methods including
use of some enzyme.

〓 Research Area : Chemistry of Bioactive Compounds
Aiming for use in medicine and agrochemicals, we are conducting
1: Search for natural bioactive compounds (highly functional compounds)
2: Research on biocatalyst-mediated conversion of low-functional substances.

Search and use of new enzymes effective for production of useful substances(1) We can synthesize various dehydrogenated cyclic dipeptides by using the novel cyclic dipeptide oxidase that we found in actinomycetes. We are investigating various properties of this unique
enzyme and conducting applied research on highly sensitive
detection of cyclic dipeptide and production of dehydrogenatedcyclic dipeptide using this enzyme. (2) We are preparing new
antioxidant active substances by enzymatic conversion from olive secondary metabolites, and are studying their usage. (3) Weare conducting a detailed study of microbial enzymes that show
characteristic transglycosylation activity. (4) We are studying
methods for treating woody biomass with microorganisms or enzymes for efficient use of materials.

Search for chitinolytic enzyme inhibitors and analysisof their bioactivity〓 Prof.
KANZAKI Hiroshi〓 Prof.
NITODA Teruhiko40

The epidermis of insects and the cell wall of filamentous fungi contain the polysaccharide chitin.
Since the metabolism of chitin is essential for the growthof insects and filamentous fungi, the enzymes responsible for the metabolism of chitinase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase are expected to be applied to pest control
agents and antibacterial agents. We have conducted
research to find inhibitors of these enzymes in microbial
metabolites. We have discovered two novel inhibitors of
β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, and are elucidating the details of their inhibitory activity and inhibitory selectivity.