{"id":38,"date":"2023-02-24T16:32:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T03:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/fellner\/?page_id=38"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T02:01:22","slug":"serine-hydrolases","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/fellner\/serine-hydrolases\/","title":{"rendered":"Serine hydrolases"},"content":{"rendered":"

This page summarises our research on serine hydrolases, in particular from Staphylococcus aureus<\/em>. Please see the individual pages for details about available student projects (summer, undergraduate, PhD). If you are interested please email matthias.fellner@otago.ac.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Staphylococcus aureus<\/em> is a common cause of a variety of diseases ranging from local skin or soft tissue infections to invasive and chronic infections such as bacteremia, pneumonia, or endocarditis. For 2019 S. aureus<\/em> was the leading bacterial cause of death in 135 countries (including New Zealand), being the only organism that was associated with more than 1 million deaths worldwide.(1)
\nThere is an urgent need for better diagnostic tools such as advanced imaging agents to determine where exactly the infection is located, how significant it is and if it is responding to antibiotic treatments.
\nWe create such tools by covalently targeting ten S. aureus<\/em> serine hydrolase proteins (FphA-J 52-22 kD<\/em>). These proteins are active during S. aureus<\/em> infections, making them promising targets for diagnostics.(2) Our strategy ensures that the new diagnostic tool will have exceptional levels of specificity, negating off-target toxic effects while also offering additional therapeutic benefits due to the inhibition of the target proteins.<\/p>\n

Fluorophosphonate-binding hydrolases A-J<\/h2>\n