Sometimes the old saying is true - good things come in small packages.

Robert Maleczka, an MSU professor of chemistry, has spent five years working on a project that could have a large impact for the future of cancer treatment and research.

An all-natural compound was discovered by Jun’ichi Kobayashi, a professor at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, which could have far-reaching medicinal effects.

The compound is found in a parasite indigenous to Okinawa, Japan, called the marine flatworm. Researchers believe it can selectively destroy cancer cells while not harming normal cells.

“The compound was deemed active against all of the 60 anti-cancer screens run by the National Cancer Institute,” Maleczka said. “The problem is that there has not been a decent supply of this compound.”

Scientists don’t know why the compound works so well because there is not enough of it to study, he said.

“Our job is to make more of the material so we can understand its biology and confirm its actual structure,” Maleczka said. “We also want to make it in a way so that we can manipulate it to improve its biological capabilities.”

Chemistry graduate student Lamont Terrell has been working on the project with Maleczka since the beginning.

“In the lab we conduct organic synthesis, where we actually recreate products found in nature,” Terrell said. “Eventually we look to test these compounds and make them more useful.”

In addition to creating more of the compound to study, Maleczka said he believes it is also a good opportunity to develop new chemical reaction processes.

Katharine Hunt, chairperson for the Department of Chemistry, said Maleczka’s project is an important area in life science research.

“This is really creative work,” she said. “The compound shows a very strong anti-cancer activity.”

Maleczka’s group has done a great job of putting the compound together, Hunt said.

“The project is a great synthetic challenge,” she said. “And he has developed a very clever synthetic plan.”