Lukas Koch
Institute of Pharmacy
Free University of Berlin
Room 704
Hoher Weg 8
D-06120 Halle/Saale
Tel.: +49 345 55 25115
lukas.koch@pharmazie.uni-halle.de
Research Interests
The "FOrmIdable" project aims to shed light on the Functions, Origins, and Identities of natural compounds in the venoms of Formicine ants (check out my ant picture gallery showcasing some of the ants). By combining high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry, next-generation RNA sequencing, and synthetic methods, I elucidate the structures of peptides and small metabolites in the venoms of different species and study their functions within their behavioral and ecological contexts.
Additional projects are focused on elucidating the structures, conducting total syntheses, and investigating the mechanisms of action of different peptide natural products.
Publications
Delawská, K.; Hájek, J.; Voráčová, K.; Kuzma, M.; Mareš, J.; Vicková, K.; Kádek, A.; Tučková, D.; Gallob, F.; Divoká, P.; Moos, M.; Opekar, S.; Koch, L.; Saurav, K.; Sedlák, D.; Novák, P.; Urajová, P.; Dean, J.; Gažák, R.; Niedermeyer, T. J. H.; Kameník, Z.; Šimek, P.; Villunger, A.; Hrouzek, P. Discovery of nostatin A, an azole-containing proteusin with prominent cytostatic and pro-apoptotic activity. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2024. DOI: 10.1039/d4ob01395f . Published Online: Nov. 22, 2024.
Meleshin, M.; Koch, L.; Wiedemann, C.; Schutkowski, M. Synthesis of Complex Thiazoline-Containing Peptides by Cyclodesulfhydration of N-Thioacyl-2-Mercaptoethylamine Derivatives. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62 (25), e202301543. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202301543
Meleshin, M.; Koch, L.; Wiedemann, C.; Schutkowski, M. Synthese komplexer thiazolinhaltiger Peptide durch Cyclodesulfhydrierung N-thioacylierter Mercaptoethylaminderivate. Angewandte Chemie 2023, 135 (25), e202301543.
Brandes, B.; Koch, L.; Hoenke, S.; Deigner, H.-P.; Csuk, R. The presence of a cationic center is not alone decisive for the cytotoxicity of triterpene carboxylic acid amides. Steroids 2020, 163, 108713. DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2020.108713
Funding
I greatfully acknowledge funding by the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt via a State Scholarship (Landesgraduiertenstipendium).