MarinLit is a comprehensive database focusing on the chemistry and biology of natural products from marine organisms.
Following a trial period at the end of last year, it is now one of the e-resources available at NIE Library.
In this article, Dr. Tan Lik Tong, Senior Lecturer from the Natural Sciences and Science Education Academic Group shares his insights on this database and how the content can be used to enhance research and teaching.
CheckOut: Dr. Tan, can you tell us more about MarinLit?
Dr. Tan: MarinLit is a useful online database dedicated to marine natural products research. Containing chemical and biological information of almost 40,000 marine derived compounds, it provides a comprehensive coverage of published marine natural products, including new and revised compounds, synthesis, ecology and bioactivities.
This online database is particularly useful for researchers in the field of drug discovery from marine organisms and it supports students’ learning and research needs by providing up-to-date chemical and biological information on natural products from marine sources.
CheckOut: Based on your experience in using the database, what do you think makes MarinLit unique? What does it offer that you cannot find anywhere else?
Dr. Tan: The main unique feature of MarinLit is its comprehensive coverage of natural products specifically from marine organisms.
The database is updated regularly from published literature. Such information is useful if a researcher's main interest is on the chemistry of marine-derived organisms. Moreover, users can easily perform dereplication of isolated compounds.
Dereplication of natural products is an essential component in the drug discovery process. It is a powerful tool in the discovery of new or novel compounds. For instance, dereplication can be performed on natural products isolated from marine organisms found in local waters.
Once compounds are isolated from marine organisms, a researcher can perform searches on the database to determine if the isolated compounds are new or known. Dereplication of compounds can be quickly carried out based on partial structures as well as spectroscopic data. Moreover, MarinLit is text and structure searchable. This means that queries can be built across a number of fields and parameters.
CheckOut: How do you see MarinLit being used as a resource to support learning and research?
Dr. Tan: For research purposes (both students and researchers), the database provides:
Information on the biological activities of a specific published compound or a class of related molecules
Insights on the chemical diversity of a particular taxonomic group of marine organisms
For students’ learning, MarinLit can:
Help students learn to navigate chemoinformatic/bioinformatic based databases as part of STEM activity
Support literature search and review for written assignments
Specifically, MarinLit is useful for students taking courses related to medicinal chemistry and natural products chemistry (e.g., AAY33E and AAY30B), as well as marine biology/chemistry (including AGE08H, MLS926, and MLS985). Students can use this database to perform literature searches specific to the chemistry of marine organisms.
Homepage of MarinLit database
CheckOut: Are there any features that you find useful and feel that users should know about?
Dr. Tan: A useful feature is the search for marine natural products based on partial structures of molecules. For instance, if you only know the partial structure of your isolated compound, you can quickly perform a search for all reported marine natural products that contain that particular partial structure. This is done easily since there is a built-in chemical drawing feature.
Another useful feature is the search for chemical diversity of a particular taxonomic group. Such information is used to guide researchers on whether a taxonomic group has been well researched on for their chemistry and to gauge the probability of finding new compounds.
CheckOut: Are there others apart from students and researchers in chemistry who will find MarinLit useful?
Dr. Tan: MarinLit will also be useful for other users, such as biologists, environmental scientists and students who want to have an in-depth understanding of the chemistry of marine organisms found at various geographical locations. Educators in the school system here can also use the database as a teaching tool in STEM activity. Searching for relevant scientific information is an important component of STEM education and MarinLit can facilitate such activity.
You can access MarinLit from ourList of Databases on the Library Portal.