Chemical tools for investigating histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes

With a foundation in chemical synthesis, the laboratory of Christian Olsen explores the function of small molecules, peptides, peptidomimetics, and proteins in biological systems. They are focusing on peptidomimetic secondary structures with potential as antimicrobial agents, as non-proteinogenic ligands for disruption of protein–protein interactions, and for multivalent display. They are also exploring naturally occurring macrocyclic peptides – and analogues thereof – for development of class- or isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors and quorum sensing modulators, as well as investigating substrate-specificity of the human lysine deacylase enzymes using chemical biology tools.