Innovative Approaches in Medicinal Chemistry Group – IAMC Group
Group Members: Prof. Marco De Amici, Prof. Clelia Dallanoce, Dr. Carlo Matera
Associate Researchers: Dott. Claudio Papotto (PhD student), Dott. Marco Maspero (postdoctoral researcher at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele)
Web page: https://iamc.unimi.it/
Description
Our research group has expertise in the field of medicinal chemistry and synthetic organic chemistry and is devoted to the design of novel pharmacologically active molecules, with the aim of contributing to the investigation of biological processes and the development of innovative therapeutic approaches. Research projects currently active in our labs:
- Modulators of the cholinergic system: design, synthesis and study of the structure-activity relationships of acetylcholine receptor activators (agonists, silent agonists, positive allosteric modulators) and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, potentially useful the treatment of several pathologies and for the investigation of acetylcholine-mediated biological processes.
- Dualsteric ligands: design and synthesis of bitopic ligands (one molecule-one target-two binding sites) obtained via molecular hybridization. These ligands enable the fine tuning of cellular responses mediated by the target receptor and can be used as tools for the study of receptor activation mechanisms.
- Dual-target ligands: design and synthesis of dual-acting compounds (one molecule-two targets) obtained via molecular hybridization of drugs, with the aim of developing novel polypharmacological therapies.
- Photopharmacology: design and synthesis of photoswitchable ligands to control biological processes with high spatial and temporal precision using light as an external trigger. Such light-responsive compounds can serve as powerful tools for the investigation of biological phenomena and innovative drugs for the development of light-mediated treatments for cancer and other diseases.
- Biomarkers for PET: synthesis of cold precursors of radiotracers for positron emission tomography as putative diagnostic probes in preclinical phase for reaching the target, defining the stage of the disease, and for biodistribution studies.
- Novel therapeutic approaches to multiple sclerosis: design and synthesis of modulators of novel biological targets to inhibit the activation of immune cells and promote the regeneration of oligodendrocytes lost during the disease.
National and international collaborations
- Prof. Ulrike Holzgrabe & Prof. Michael Decker, Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry University of Würzburg (Germany)
- Prof. Carsten Hoffmann, Institute for Molecular Cell Biology, Jena University Hospital (Germany)
- Prof. Roger Lee Papke, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, Gainesville (Florida, USA)
- Prof. Nicole Horenstein, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville (Florida, USA)
- Dr. Cecilia Gotti, Istituto di Neuroscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano
- Prof. Chiara Fiorentini, Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Brescia
- Prof. Elisabetta Barocelli, Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Parma
- Prof. Ada Maria Tata, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”
- Prof. Pau Gorostiza, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Barcelona (Spagna)
- Dr. Angela Coliva, Unità di Medicina Nucleare e Centro PET, Ospedale San Raffaele di Milano
- Prof. Rosa Maria Moresco, Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Preclinical PET Facility, Unità di Medicina Nucleare, Ospedale San Raffaele di Milano
- Prof. Maria Pia Abbracchio, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Milano
ERC panels
PE5_18 Medicinal chemistry
PE5_17 Organic chemistry
PE4_15 Photochemistry
LS1_11 Chemical biology
LS1_13 Early translational research and drug design
LS5_11 Neurological and neurodegenerative disorders
LS5_18 Innovative methods and tools for neuroscience
LS7_1 Medical imaging for prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of diseases