“The aim of the project is to develop and test pharmaceuticals that contain fatty acids and monoglyceride as active ingredients to prevent infections through membranes and to treat skin and membrane infections,” says Þórdís Kristmundsdóttir, Professor of Pharmacodynamics, concerning research she is collaborating on with Halldór Þormar, Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, and Peter Holbrook, Professor at the Faculty of Odontology. The main focus of the research are lipids; a large group of fats who have in many cases proven to be active against viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Kristmundsdóttir and Þormar‘s cooperation began after they met at a meeting at the University of Iceland. “Þormar had been studying the virucidal attributes of lipids for years, and he told me about his research during a break. He was very keen to get the lipids that had proven to have strong microbicidal effects into a pharmaceutical form and since pharmacodynamics is my speciality we decided to start working together,” says Kristmundsdóttir.
The research has led to the registering of patents and patent application as well as to the launch of start-ups. Clinical trials have shown that a lipid called monocrapin actively inhibits infections in the mouth such as herpes simplex. Kristmundsdóttir and Holbrook are currently preparing a clinical trial on the efficacy of moncaprin in treating fungal infections in the mouth. Kristmundsdóttir points out that the project has both theoretical and practical value. “There are many pros to utilising lipids to treating infections in skin and on membranes. The lipids we have worked with are highly microbicidal and are neither irritants nor allergenic. Lipids could become a cheap source of microbicides to handle infections,” Kristmundsdóttir concludes.
