DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC PEPTIDES

1. Research group Expertise
Design and development of therapeutic peptides
from bench to market
Introduction
Since 2003, the Group of Therapeutic Peptides (University of Barcelona) carries out research and
development of new peptide-based chemical entities, from the design stage to preclinical proof of
concept, with the long term objective of developing them as future drugs and medicines.
Staff
The group is formed by two tenured professors of the University of Barcelona: Francesc Rabanal in
the Department of Organic Chemistry (Faculty of Chemistry) and Yolanda Cajal in the Department
of Physical Chemistry (Faculty of Pharmacy), together with PhD and master students.
We Offer technical and scientific expertise in
 Design and synthesis of potential peptide-based therapeutic
compounds, particularly, membrane-active peptides and Industry focus
mimetics. Pharmaceutical & Drug Development
Cosmetic
 Purification, characterization and structure elucidation of
Chemical
peptide-based compounds.
Biotechnology / Biomedicine
 Mechanism of Action studies: Food Industry
o Fluorescence-based experiments, both steady-state
and life-time, using covalently labeled lipids and peptides
o Monolayers at the air/water interface as a tool to study peptide or protein interaction with
the membrane
o insertion kinetics at constant pressure/area, pressure/area isotherms, surface potential
measurement, and morphology changes by Brewster angle microscopy and atomic force
microscopy on solid support (Langmuir-Blodgett films).
 Preparation of liposomes (SUVs, LUVs, GUVs), including labeling, functionalization and
encapsulation. Characterization of size distribution by light-scattering and determination of Z-
potential.
 In vitro and in vivo preclinical proof of concept of NCE in an integrated collaboration with other
teams in the University.
Facilitites
The team has full equipped labs in the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Department of Physical
Chemistry at the University of Barcelona, for chemical synthesis, characterization and study of peptides.
Equipment is also available for the study of Langmuir films as well as the technology needed to prepare and
characterize different types of liposomes.
LAB EQUIPMENT
 Analytical and preparative HPLC  Extruder and high power sonicator for Langmuir films
 MALDI-TOF and ESI mass spectrophotometers  surface potential devices,
 UV-vis, fluorescence, FT-IR,  and formation of LB films on solid support for atomic force
 amino acid analysis (at CCiT-UB) microscopy (AFM) observation and characterization
 2 steady-state spectrofluorometers (Aminco AB2 and  electronic microscopy (TEM/SEM, cryomicroscopy,CCiT-UB)
QuantaMaster, Photon Technology Instruments-PTI)  flow cytometry (at CCiT-UB)
equipped with polarizers,  high field NMR (including solid-state, at CCiT-UB),
 a life-time fluorimeter (PTI),  confocal microscopy (at CCiT-UB)
 last-generation instruments (Nima Technology and KSV),  in vitro and in vivo studies
with Brewster angle microscope,  microcalorimetry (at CCiT-UB)
The team has free access to all sort of scientific and technical instrumentation and facilities of the University
of Barcelona at the CCiT-UB: http://www.ccit.ub.edu/EN/home.html
Visit website for additional information: http://www.qo.ub.es/personals/frabanal.htm
Contact Technology Transfer Office @ promocio@fbg.ub.edu T. +34 934039900

2. Research group Expertise
Design and development of therapeutic peptides
from bench to market
Francesc Rabanal Anglada Yolanda Cajal has
shows, according to the ISI focused her research in
web of knowledge, 79 the study of the
international publications (51 interaction of peptides
peer-reviewed articles and and proteins with lipid
reviews) with more than 1300 membranes. In many
citations, and an h index of cases, this interaction
23. He has also 6 patents in defines subsequent
different stages, some of biological activity of the
them granted and transferred. Visit website for further peptides, considered of great importance. The analysis of
information: http://www.qo.ub.es/personals/frabanal.htm those interactions requires of different approaches,
including physicochemical, biophysical, chemical and
He has more than 25 years of experience in bioorganic biological methods.
chemistry and design of peptides and protein models due
to his stays in CID-CSIC (Barcelona), University of Her interest on antimicrobial peptides started in 1994,
Barcelona, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (Macclesfield, UK) during her postdoctoral research (Department of Chemistry
and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Biochemistry, University of Delaware), being her most
(Johnson Research Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, USA). important contribution the description of a new biophysical
phenomenon: the selective exchange of phospholipids
Francesc Rabanal has directed or co-directed seven Ph.D between membranes induced by polycationic peptides,
and 12 Masters (M Sc) in chemistry. As a research reported initially for the peptide antibiotic polymyxin B (PxB)
professor, he has 3 research "sexenios" (3 six-year in 4 papers (impact factors 2.904, 4.008, 4.008, 6.903 JCR),
periods), and 3 teaching "quinquenios" (3 five-year with more than 110 citations. This process was proposed as
periods). the basis of a new mechanism of antibiotic action in Gram
negative bacteria, as reported in four communications
As an example of our tech-transfer capabilities, please, (impact factor 3.441, 3.441, 3.441, 2.904) that have
visit http://www.medicamentos- received more than 100 citations. Once in the University of
innovadores.org/sites/default/files/medinnovadores/Espa Barcelona, Dr. Cajal continued the research in Antimicrobial
%C3%B1ol/Farma-Biotech/Barcelona_14-03- Peptides (AMPs).
2012/Rabanal_14_03_2011_5.pdf
She is also member of the group “Peptides and Proteins,
physicochemical studies”, (Grupo Consolidado from
Generalitat de Catalunya) and of the Instituto de
Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia (IN2UB).
http://www.ub.edu/fqfar/recerca.php?id_recerca=1&id_cat_r
ecerca=2
Research and Tech transfer. Patents & Publications
F. Rabanal*, W. F. DeGrado, y P. L. Dutton. Toward the synthesis of a photosynthetic reaction center maquette: a cofacial
porphyrin pair assembled between two subunits of a synthetic four-helix bundle multiheme Protein. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118,
473-474 (1996)
Jose J. Pastor, Giovanna Granados, Natalia Carulla, Francesc Rabanal, Ernest Giralt, Redesign of Protein Domains Using
One-Bead-One-Compound Combinatorial Chemistry. J. Am. Chem. Soc , 129, 14922-14932, (2007)
Francesc Rabanal. Nucleophile and base labile resins (chapter 15). The Power of Functional Resins in Organic Synthesis,
F. Albericio & J. Tulla-Puche (Eds), Ed. WILEY VCH Verlag GmbH & Co KGaA, Weinheim, Germany, 2008, ISBN 978-3-
527-31936-7, p 417-36
Adrià Clausell, Maria Garcia-Subirats, Montserrat Pujol, M. Antonia Busquets, Francesc Rabanal, Yolanda Cajal. Gram
negative bacteria outer and inner membrane models: Insertion of cyclic cationic peptides. J. Phys. Chem B, 111, 551-563.
(2007)
Grillo-Bosch, Dolors; Carulla, Natalia; Cruz, Montse; Sanchez, Laia; Pujol-Pina, Rosa; Madurga, Sergio; Rabanal, Francesc;
Giralt, Ernest. retro-enantio N-methylated peptides as beta-amyloid aggregation inhibitors. ChemMedChem, 4, 1488-94,
(2009)
WO 2011 110716 Peptide compounds that can be used as antibacterial agents.
WO 2011 054993 Peptides for the treatment of ocular hypertension and/or glaucoma.
WO 2010 029196 Antibacterial peptide compounds
Visit website for additional information: http://www.qo.ub.es/personals/frabanal.htm
Contact Technology Transfer Office @ promocio@fbg.ub.edu T. +34 934039900