Event

The Human Milk Glycome as a Defense Against Infectious Diseases

Abstract:  When antibiotics were first broadly introduced in the 1930s, they were considered the most important advancement in modern medicine. Deaths attributed to communicable diseases were drastically reduced leading to the belief that infectious diseases were conquerable. Bacteria, however, counter antibiotic chemotherapy with resistance mechanisms that result in the emergence of infections untreatable by the current artillery of therapeutics.  Efforts to develop new antimicrobial agents with unique structural motifs and novel modes of action to fight multi-drug resistant pathogens are ongoing.  During this seminar, I will discuss our groups efforts to develop human milk oligosaccharides as novel antimicrobial agents.  Along these lines, we will also discuss novel reactions developed in our lab to chemically modify unprotected oligosaccharides.

Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of Human Milk Oligosaccharides Against Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii.  DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.7b00183

The Human Milk Glycome as a Defense Against Infectious Diseases: Rationale, Challenges, and Opportunities. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.7b00209

Metal-Free Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Organoselenides and Selenoglycosides. DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.7b02526

 Inquires please contact Rosa M. Vargas rvargas@sas.upenn.edu