Dr. Niki Patel

Dr. Niki Patel

Associate Principal Scientist, Process Research and Development

Merck & Co.

Abstract

Merck Science talk: A Collaborative Total Synthesis of Darobactin A

Antibiotics with novel mechanisms are needed to address the growing problem of resistance. Only a few classes of antibiotics show activity against gram-negative bacteria, which contain an outer membrane that restricts unwanted compounds. Darobactin A is a recently discovered, ribosomally synthesized macrocyclic peptide natural product isolated from Photorhabdus that exhibits gram- negative antibiotic activity. Given the noteworthy structure of this macrocyclic peptide, we were interested in conducting a study into the synthesis of this molecule; however, unlike other cyclic peptide natural products, darobactin A contains an elaborate and strained bicyclic architecture, making it challenging to access. As a result, our highly collaborative team from Merck and the Sarlah lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have completed the total synthesis of this complex molecule utilizing an innovative synthetic strategy, leveraged a halogen-selective Larock protocol that and was useful in generating milligram quantities of darobactin A.

Dr. Niki Patel

Niki Patel grew up in Philadelphia, PA. She conducted her undergraduate studies at Temple University, earning a B.S. in Chemistry in 2010. Following graduation, she went on to perform her doctoral studies under the supervision of Professor Robert Flowers at Lehigh University. In 2015, Niki moved to the University of Pennsylvania as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Gary Molander. Niki has been with Merck for 6 years with roles in Process Chemistry and Discovery Process Chemistry.

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