Exploring the chemical diversity of Antarctica

Stine S.H. Olsen, Sydney Morrow, Julia Szabo, Ezequiel Cruz Rosa, Kim-Chi Teng, Bill. J. Baker

University of South Florida

Natural products (secondary metabolites) have been used as medicine to treat diseases since ancient times due to their therapeutic properties. Traditional medicines primarily use plant extracts for treatment, while marine organisms as a drug source came later. Today, most marine secondary metabolites are mainly from tropical areas. Herein, I focus on the research conducted on two different sponges collected from the relatively unexplored cold habitats of Antarctica: Suberites sp. and Latrunculia sp. The sponges were freeze-dried, extracted, and purified through a ¹H NMR-guided approach, where fractionation was conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) until pure compounds were achieved. 1D/2D NMR was used for structure elucidation, combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). New compounds were isolated from both sponges and submitted for biological testing in various assays. The compounds isolated from Suberites sp. inhibited respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), while the Latrunculia sp. compounds showed cytotoxicity against human lung cells (A549). This research represents the large chemical diversity present in Antarctica and the potential for novel chemical compounds for drug discovery.