The research interests of Dr. Andersen's group involve the isolation and structure elucidation of novel organic metabolites produced by marine organisms. Biosynthetic studies are carried out on the novel metabolites when it is feasible. The structures of the new metabolites are elucidated primarily by spectroscopic analysis. Multipulse 1D and 2D nmr experiments play a pivotal role in the structure elucidation. As a rule, the molecules investigated have to meet one or more of the following criteria: i) they should be of theoretical interest due to the novelty of their biogenesis - for example terpenes with new carbon skeletons, ii) they should display in vitro biological activity which makes them potential leads for the development of pharmaceutical agents and/or iii) they should display biological activities that allow them to play a central role in the biology of the producing organism (i.e. chemical ecology). Some current projects are described below.
