Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Program Focus
In collaboration with Dr. Richard Gandour, Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech, a series of dendritic amphiphiles has been synthesized and their antimicrobial activities measured against a representative panel of microbial pathogens. A number of the compounds have strong, promising antimicrobial activities against such pathogens as Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Mycobacterium spp., and Candida albicans. Research to synthesize derivatives with higher activities continues with funds provided by a new Georgetown University-Virginia Tech drug discovery program.
In 1993, Dr. Falkinham and two others founded Dominion BioSciences, Inc. It is a biotechnology development company focusing on development of novel products for the agricultural market. Their first product, a cockroach-insecticide based on inhibition of uric acid metabolism is on sale. Their second product is a broad spectrum antifungal compound produced by a non-obligate Predator soil bacterium. The fungicide has activity against fungal pathogens of bananas, papaya, pineapple, wheat, rice, grapes, tomatoes, and ornamental plants. Product development is being continued in partnership with an established producer of crop protection chemicals.
With a grant from International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program of the Fogarty Center of NIH, Dr. Falkinham and his students are collaborating with natural product chemists from Research Triangle Institute (Dr. Nicholas H. Oberlies) and Jordan University of Science and Technology (Dr. Feras Q. Alali), to detect, isolate and identify novel chemotherapeutic agents. The focus of the investigations is non-obligate predatory bacteria that grow on other microorganisms (or in common laboratory media), that produce antimicrobial compounds. Predator bacteria have not been systematically investigated as sources of antibiotics, although current studies document the cost effectiveness of their high frequency production of novel antibiotics.
Selected Publications
Karpin, G. W.; Morris, D. M.; Ngo, M. T.; Merola, J. S.; Falkinham III, J. O. Transition metal diamine complexes with anitmicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-recistant S.aureus (MRSA). Med. Chem. Commun., 2015, 6, 1471.
Karpin, G. W.; Merola, J. S.; Falkinham III, J. O. Transition Metal-∝-Amino Acid Compleses with Antibiotic Activity against Mycobacterium spp., aac.asm.org, 2013, 57, 343-3436
Maisuria, B. B.; Actis, M. L.; Hardrict, S. N.; Falkinham III, J. O.; Cole, M. F.; Cihlar, R. L.; Peters, S. M.; Macri, R. V.; Sugandhi, E. W.; Williams, A. A.; Poppe, M. A.; Esker, A. R.; Gandour, R. Comparing micellar, hemolytic, and antibacterial properties of di-and tricarboxyl dendritic amphiphiles, Bioorg. & Med. Chem., 2011, 19, 2918-2926.
Falkinham III, J. O.; Macri, R. V.; Maisuria, B. B.; Actis, M. L.; Sugandhi, E. W.; Williams, A. A.; Snyder, A. V.; Jackson, F. R.; Poppe, M. A.; Chen, L.; Ganesh, K.; Gandour, R. D. Antibacterial activities of dendritic amphiphiles against nontuberculous mycobacteria,Tuberculosis, 2012, 92, 173-181.