Prof. Dr. W. Hanefeld (im Ruhestand)

Research themes:

Synthesis of Potential Drugs with Chemotherapeutic or EnzymeInhibitor ActivityIn our group different classes of compounds are synthesized inorder to develop potential drugs which can be used as chemotherapeuticsagainst bacteria, fungi or plant diseases causing organisms orwhich exhibit special enzyme inhibitory effects. Our work canbe divided into the following topics :

• Synthesis of and Invetigations on the Reactivity of 5-,6- and 7-membered Sulfur-Nitrogen-Heterocycles with Cyclic Dithio-respectively Thiolurethane Structure.
  Oxidations and reductions of these structures using chemicalas well as electrochemical methods (key words : clean chemistry,avoidance of toxic reagents and waste).
• Nitrosations of Drugs and Model Compounds to be ableto predict the possibility of toxic nitrosation products in thecase of known drugs or to yield potential NO-liberating compoundswhich are important for the treatment of coronary diseases orfor the treatment of processes in the central and peripheric nervoussystem.
• Synthesis and Optimization of Aldose Reductase Inhibitorson the basis of 3-minorhodanines. Our group has already developeda new lead-structure with good effects in the aldose reductaseinhibition test. The compounds shall be optimized. The importanceof these evaluations lies in the avoidance of diabetic complicationsconcerning the eyes, the kidneys and the peripheric nervous systemby intracellular accumulation of sorbitol.
• Electrochemical Oxidations as a new method for carbon-nitrogen-linkagebetween heterocyclic systems. Methodic investigations concerningthe selectivity an the avoidance of by-products are carried outin comparison with chemical reagents.