Synthetic chemistry

The synthetic chemistry team is based at the Ferrier Research Institute in Gracefield, Lower Hutt.

Overview

Led by Dr Lawrence Harris, the synthetic chemistry team has significant expertise in the synthesis and applications of nucleosides.

The synthetic chemistry team develops new antiviral drugs that can be effective against a variety of viruses. The team works on novel nucleoside analogues. Nucleosides and nucleotides are the building blocks of genetic material. Certain modified nucleosides have a successful history of being potent antiviral drugs. However, it's challenging to find new and improved antiviral nucleosides.

The team works closely with partner organisations worldwide to develop and test the effectiveness of new antiviral drugs. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, discovered that the human body can make its own type of antiviral nucleotide. Building on this discovery, Dr Harris’s team explores how to leverage the naturally-produced nucleotide to develop more advanced drugs.

Little is known about these newly discovered molecules, so the collaboration focused on identifying the biochemical pathways that exist around them. This has led to the discovery of interesting new pathways and to further research funded by the National Institute of Health in the United States of America.

The synthetic chemistry team prepares new chemicals to test these new biochemical pathways. This could lead to better drugs for other diseases, like cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. The international interest in these compounds has led to collaborations with groups from the Australia National Phenome Centre at Murdoch University, Perth, and the University of Berkeley, California.

Testing and evaluating synthetic compounds are crucial aspects of the team's work. This is possible through the team’s relationship with the US-based National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. There the team can test the compounds against a wide range of known viruses. This includes dangerous viruses that cannot be found or researched in New Zealand.

The team understands the research's commercial applications. They work closely with Wellington UniVentures to identify relevant market potential. Some of the patents that the team has, or has applied for, include new classes of antiviral and antibacterial drugs.

Real-world impact

When the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading, global supply chains of rapid antigen tests (RATs), and the chemical reagents used to make them and in PCR testing, which was essential for monitoring the spread of the virus across New Zealand, were under immense pressure. Dr Harris’s team received funding to prepare these nucleotides to support a national effort to mitigate these supply chain issues.

As national experts in this area, the team was also awarded an RNA Development Platform Fast Start grant in 2024 to ensure that New Zealand can make nucleoside/nucleotides and other reagents that are essential components for RNA research.
For more information about the team and its work, contact ferrier@vuw.ac.nz.

Solving problems

Check out the reserach topics that Team Harris has worked on;

Publications