Laboratory of CNS Active Compounds

Foto Gints Smits

Dr. chem. Gints Šmits

Head of Laboratory

e-mail: gintssmits@osi.lv

Laboratory Twitter account: @LabCasl

The laboratory of CNS active compounds, established in 2001, consists of a team of 15 chemists with broad expertise in organic chemistry. The research team is actively working on both EU funded projects as well as custom synthesis projects.

The main research areas are:

  • Medicinal chemistry of developing new anticancer drugs as well as antibiotics;
  • Development of new synthetic methods with application in natural product total synthesis;
  • Synthesis and characterization of biopolymers.

Selected publications:

  • Stereoselective Olefination with Sterically Demanding Julia-Kocienski Reagents: Total Synthesis of Oxo-prothracarcin, Oxo-tomaymycin, and Boseongazepine B. Z. Leitis, G. Sakaine, A. Kinēns, G. Smits.* ACS Omega, 2022, 7, 34, 30519. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c03732
  • Isolation, chemistry, and biology of pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepine natural products. G. Sakaine, A. Ture, J. Pedroni, Smits. * Med. Res. Rev. 2022, 42, 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/med.21803
  • Total Synthesis of the Proposed Structure of Uncarialin A. N. Ūdris, K. Jaudzems, G. Smits. Org. Chem. 2021, 86, 6927. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.1c00324
  • Stereoselective synthesis of an eleganine A core. Smits,* R. Zemribo. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2020, 4566. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0OB00939C
  • First Total Synthesis and in Vitro Cytotoxicities of Flavesines G and J. J. Pelšs, Smits.* ACS Omega, 2020, 5, 12568. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c01672
  • Modified Julia-Kocienski Reagents for a Stereoselective Introduction of Trisubstituted Double Bonds: A Formal Total Synthesis of Limazepine e and Barmumycin. G. Sakaine, Smits.* J. Org. Chem. 2018, 83, 5323. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.8b00643