A complete chemical synthesis of a natural sunscreen

Gadusol is a sunscreen produced naturally by zebrafish and several other vertebrates. The Gagnon lab has recently found that gadusol protects zebrafish embryos from harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVR) produced by the sun. Zebrafish synthesize gadusol using a two-step enzymatic process starting from sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, a Pentose Phosphate Pathway derivative. Porting this biological synthesis into yeast or bacteria is complicated and inefficient because we can not easily isolate the compound or control reaction conditions to maximize product. We have devised and implemented several strategies for a complete chemical synthesis of gadusol. I have also developed a simple biological assay to determine the efficacy of sunscreens in protecting living cells against various wavelengths of UVR. The synthesis of natural sunscreens such as gadusol may allow us to develop these molecules into sunscreens for consumer use.