Néstor M. Carballeira

Chemistry Graduate and Undergraduate Program

E-mail: nestor.carballeira1@upr.edu
Office: FB-135D
Lab: FB-119

Research Interests

• • Lipid Chemistry and Marine Natural Products: Isolation and Synthesis of New Fatty
    Acids of Marine Origin

• • New Antiplasmodial and Antibacterial Lipids

Research

Dr. Néstor M. Carballeira’s research efforts span the chemistry and biological activity of fatty acids, particularly those derived from marine sources. Key findings include:

Antibacterial Properties of Fatty Acids: The antibacterial activity of fatty acids, especially synthetic 2-alkynoic fatty acids, has been extensively studied, highlighting their potential as next-generation antibacterial agents. This includes their ability to inhibit bacterial conjugation and act against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Antimalarial, Antimycobacterial, and Antifungal Agents: Research has focused on fatty acids as potential antimalarial, antimycobacterial, and antifungal agents, including novel marine fatty acids and synthetic acetylenic fatty acids.

Marine Natural Products and Novel Fatty Acids: Identification and characterization of numerous novel and unusual fatty acids from various marine organisms, including sponges, anemones, and zoanthids, such as α-methoxylated branched-chain fatty acids, brominated fatty acids, and specific dienoic acids.

Fatty Acid Compositions of Microorganisms: Characterization of unusual fatty acid compositions in hyperthermophilic archaea and bacteria, including the first report of fatty acids from an archaeon.

Ecological Role of Sponges: Contributions to understanding the trophodynamics of coral reef sponges, demonstrating their ability to feed on dissolved and particulate organic matter and their significant role in organic matter assimilation in reef systems.

Role of Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN) in Cognitive Enhancement: Evidence suggesting that FASN plays an important role in exercise-mediated cognitive enhancement, potentially linked to its role in modulating exercise-induced neurogenesis.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Fatty Acids: Development of synthetic methods for novel fatty acids and evaluation of their biological activities, including their antimicrobial properties and inhibition of human topoisomerase I.

Novel Chalcones for Cancer Treatment: Synthesis and evaluation of novel 4-Boc-piperidone chalcones for their cytotoxic activity against highly-metastatic cancer cells, linking their efficacy to apoptosis induction and NFκB activity reduction.

Representative publications:

Villarini-Torres, G. Casillas-Vargas, K. Shayeb, A. Rosado-Ortíz, L. Reyes-Vicente, M. De Jesús-Vega, D. Amely-Gavilán, N. Díaz-Cruz, G. Cortés-Rodríguez, J. Said, J. Ceja-Vega, E. Andersen, A. Rabadi, A. Colom, H. Rivera, S. Lee, N. Chorna, K. Brundage, N. M. Carballeira, and D. J. Sanabria-Ríos, “Dual Mechanisms of Action of a Halogenated Allyl Fatty Acid Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus”, ACS Omega, 10(46), 55769-55786(2025).

J. Sanabria-Ríos, R. García-Del-Valle, S. Boch-Fonseca, J. González-Pagán, A. Díaz-Rosa, K. Acevedo-Rosario, L. Reyes-Vicente, A. Colom, and N. M. Carballeira, “Synthesis of the novel N-(2-hexadecynoyl)-L-homoserine lactone and evaluation of its anti-quorum sensing activity in Chromobacterium violaceum”, ACS Omega, 9, 32536-32546 (2024).

J. Sanabria-Ríos, D. Alequín-Torres, A. De Jesús, G. Cortés, N. M. Carballeira, and V. Jáuregui-Matos “Vinyl Halogenated Fatty Acids Display Antibacterial Activity Against Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus”, Med. Res. Arch., 10(7), 10.18103/mra.v10i7.2901 (2022).

Casillas-Vargas, C. Ocasio-Malavé, S. Medina, C. Morales-Guzmán, R. García del Valle, N. M. Carballeira, and D. J. Sanabria-Ríos “Antibacterial Fatty Acids: An Update of Possible Mechanisms of Action and Implications in the Development of the Next-Generation of Antibacterial Agents”, Prog. Lipid Res., 82, 101093 (2021).

Álvarez-Bardón, Y. Pérez-Pertejo, C. Ordoñez, D. Sepúlveda-Crespo, N. M. Carballeira, B. L. Tekwani, S. Murugesan, M. Martínez-Valladares, C. García-Estrada, Rosa M. Reguera, and R. Balaña-Fouce “Screening Marine Natural Products for New Drug Leads against Trypanosomatids and Malaria”, Mar. Drugs, 18, 187 (2020).

J Sanabria-Ríos, C. Morales-Guzmán, J. Mooney, S. Medina, T. Pereles-De-León, A. Rivera- Román, C. Ocasio-Malavé, D. Díaz, N. Chorna, and N. M. Carballeira. “Antibacterial Activity of Hexadecynoic Acid Isomers toward Clinical Isolates of Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus”, Lipids, 55, 101-116 (2020).

Ocasio-Malavé, M. J. Donate, M. M. Sánchez, J. M. Sosa-Rivera, J. W. Mooney, T. A., Pereles-De León, N. M., Carballeira, B., Zayas, C. E. Vélez-Gerena, M. Martínez-Ferrer, and D. J. Sanabria-Ríos “Synthesis of Novel 4-Boc-piperidone Chalcones and Evaluation of their Cytotoxic Activity against Highly-Metastatic Cancer Cells”, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 30, 126760 (2020).

M. Carballeira, D. Alequín, L. M. Lotti Díaz, V. Jauregui Matos, L. L. G. Ferreira, A. D. Andricopulo, M. Y. Golovko, R. M. Reguera, Y. Pérez-Pertejo, and R. Balaña-Fouce “Synthesis of a Novel Brominated Vinylic Fatty Acid with Antileishmanial Activity that Effectively Inhibits the Leishmania Topoisomerase IB Enzyme Mediated by Halogen Bond Formation”, Pure Appl. Chem., 91, 1405-1416 (2019).

García-Cazorla, M. Getino, D. J. Sanabria-Ríos, N. M. Carballeira, F. de la Cruz, I. Arechaga, and E. Cabezón. “Conjugation Inhibitors Compete with Palmitic Acid for Binding to the Conjugative Traffic ATPase TrwD, providing a Mechanism to Inhibit Bacterial Conjugation”, J. Biol. Chem., 293, 16923-16930 (2018).

M. Carballeira, C. Morales-Guzmán, E. Álvarez-Benedicto, Z. Torres-Martínez, Y. Delgado-Reyes, K. H. Griebenow, A. D. Tinoco, R. M. Reguera, Y. Pérez-Pertejo, R. Carbajo-Andrés, and R. Balaña – Fouce “First Total Synthesis of -Phenyl 6 Fatty Acids and their Leishmanicidal and Anticancer Properties”, Curr. Top. Med. Chem., 18(5), 418-427 (2018).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7404-0505