Office: CHBA 213 Phone: (405) 325-5581 Email: fjschmitz@chemdept.chem.ou.edu Group Homepage Link Full Publications List

Francis J. Schmitz George Lynn Cross Research Professor. B.S. (Loras College) 1958; Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley) 1961 NIH Postdoctoral Fellow (Stanford University) 1961-1962 NSF Postdoctoral Fellow (Stanford University) 1962-1963 Regents' Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1969 Chairman, Gordon Conference on Marine Natural Products, 1979 Regents' Award for Superior Accomplishment in Research, 1981 George Lynn Cross Research Professor, 1985 American Chemical Society, Oklahoma Chemist Award, 1987 Faculty Achievement Award, 1993

Division: Organic chemistry Research Interests Isolation and structure determination of marine natural products; organic synthesis with emphasis on synthesis of natural products.

Research Description

Our research program is devoted to the study of the organic chemistry of marine organisms. The major goals of this research are to isolate and determine the structure of novel compounds produced by marine animals and to discover potential new drugs. As a natural extension of this work we have an interest in the comparative biochemistry of marine animals and in studying variability in chemical content of a given species when collected from different geographical locations. We are also investigating the contributions that symbiotic algae and bacteria make to the mixture of compounds isolated from sponges.

Our search for new drugs is focused on finding new anticancer agents and central nervous system active compounds. Testing for anticancer activity is carried out both inhouse and via collaboration with other laboratories. Collaborating pharmacologists test our samples for central nervous system activity.

A broad spectrum of marine animals is included in our research, e.g., sponges, gorgonians (sea fans, sea whips), soft corals, soft-bodied mollusks and tunicates. Currently, we are also studying the chemistry of marine bacteria and microscopic algae that grow in close association with sponges and some other animals. Mass culturing of these microorganisms will provide a constant supply of any interesting compounds for in-depth studies and even for clinical applications.

A diverse array of natural products is encountered in this work, including polyether carboxylic acids, macrolides, C-15 to C-30 terpenoids, aromatic alkaloids and new sterols. Students gain extensive experience in the application of a variety of separation techniques and the use of one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Proton and carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy play a vital role in determining structures. Total synthesis of some of the new natural products is also undertaken. Computer modeling combined with NMR data is used to study molecular conformations.