Synthose partners with OUIT on NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant

Synthose partners with OUIT on NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant

April 16, 2019

Following an initial six-month collaboration between Synthose and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology's Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers, Synthose is pleased to contribute funding to the NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant project entitled "Synthesis of Chemically-Modified Biological Molecules."

The first phase of the project will extend from the NSERC Engage project and involve more synthesis of novel sugar-nucleic acid polymers via phosphoramidite chemistry, for future downstream oligonucleotide applications.

A second research phase will focus on the synthesis of sphingosine and ceramide derivatives. The synthesis of chemical probes to delineate structure-activity relationships between sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 will be pursued.

Finally, a third phase will involve attaching hydrophobic molecules such as sphingosine and ceramide to gene-silencing oligonucleotides for potential improvements in activity in the absence of cellular transfection carriers in different cell types.

Through this partnership, Synthose will develop new building blocks as well as expanding our scope to other areas of chemical biology, enabling us to offer synthesis of nucleic acids and oligonucleotides.