Mikhail Shchepinov

Mikhail S. Shchepinov (born 1965, Moscow, USSR[1]) is a biochemist working in bioorganic chemistry, nucleic‑acid microarray technology, and the development of isotope‑reinforced essential nutrients, including deuterated polyunsaturated fatty acids (D‑PUFAs). He is a co‑founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Retrotope, Inc., a biotechnology company developing drug candidates based on the use of stable isotopes to increase the resistance of biomolecules to oxidative damage.[2]

Early life and education

Shchepinov grew up in Chernogolovka, a scientific town north of Moscow.[3] In the late 1970s he was first exposed to autocatalytic processes, by discussing explosions with Nobel laureate Nikolay Semyonov.[3] Shchepinov received an M.S. in chemistry and biotechnology from the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia and completed a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry at the Shemyakin–Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in 1994.[1]

Academic career

From 1995 to 2000, Shchepinov conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford in the laboratory of Sir Edwin Southern,[1] working on DNA chip technology, combinatorial chemistry, fluorescence methods, mass spectrometry, and surface chemistry. His work included the development of nucleic‑acid dendrimers,[4] contributing to early advances in nucleic‑acid microarray platforms.[5][6]

Research contributions

Shchepinov has reported that amino acids[7][8] and nucleic acids[9] can both be reinforced with heavy stable isotopes, with surprising protective effects.[10] The strongest protection has been observed for D‑PUFAs, even at relatively low incorporation levels.[11] This work has contributed to understanding the protective effects of deuterated lipids and the role of lipid oxidation in cell‑death pathways, suggesting that lipid peroxidation may represent a common upstream factor in multiple disorders[12]

Industry roles

After leaving academia, Shchepinov held positions in biotechnology companies including Tridend Technologies.[1] His work in industry involved high‑throughput DNA analysis, chemical tools for genomics and proteomics, and mass‑spectrometry–based multiplexing methods.[3][13][14]

Isotope‑reinforced therapeutics

In 2006, Shchepinov co‑founded Retrotope, Inc., to develop the use of stable isotopes to stabilize essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) against lipid peroxidation.[15][16]

Publications

Book

Breaking the Chains of Aging (2025) is a popular‑science book[3] by Shchepinov that discusses the role of lipid peroxidation in aging and examines the potential use of D-PUFAs as a therapeutic strategy. The book highlights that lipid peroxidation—despite its involvement in numerous diseases and fundamental aging processes—remains comparatively under‑recognized in mainstream biomedical discourse, and presents the topic for a general readership.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Shchepinov, M. S.; Korshun, V. A. (24 April 2003). "Recent applications of bifunctional trityl groups". Chemical Society Reviews. 32 (3): 170–180. doi:10.1039/B008900L. ISSN 1460-4744. PMID 12792940.
  2. ↑ "Lifeboat Foundation Bios: Dr. Mikhail S. Shchepinov". Lifeboat Foundation. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Shchepinov, Mikhail (2025). Breaking the Chains of Aging, A Biochemical Drama. Cloister House Press. ISBN 978-1913460976.
  4. ↑ Shchepinov, M.; Udalova, I. A.; Bridgman, A. J.; Southern, E. M. (1997). "Oligonucleotide dendrimers: Synthesis and use as polylabelled DNA probes". Nucleic Acids Research. 25 (22): 4447–4454. doi:10.1093/nar/25.22.4447. PMC 147080. PMID 9358151.
  5. ↑ Southern, Edwin; Mir, Kalim; Shchepinov, Mikhail (January 1999). "Molecular interactions on microarrays". Nature Genetics. 21 (1): 5–9. Bibcode:1999NaGen..21....5S. doi:10.1038/4429. ISSN 1546-1718. PMID 9915493.
  6. ↑ Shchepinov, Mikhail S; Chalk, Rod; Southern, Edwin M (21 April 2000). "Trityl Tags for Encoding in Combinatorial Synthesis". Tetrahedron. 56 (17): 2713–2724. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(00)00223-4. ISSN 0040-4020.
  7. ↑ Pestov, Nikolay B.; Okkelman, Irina A.; Shmanai, Vadim V.; Hurski, Alaksiej L.; Giaccia, Amato J.; Shchepinov, Mikhail S. (1 January 2011). "Control of lysyl oxidase activity through site-specific deuteration of lysine". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 21 (1): 255–258. doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2010.11.018. ISSN 1464-3405. PMID 21106372.
  8. ↑ Lowenson, Jonathan D.; Shmanai, Vadim V.; Shklyaruck, Denis; Clarke, Steven G.; Shchepinov, Mikhail S. (September 2016). "Deuteration protects asparagine residues against racemization". Amino Acids. 48 (9): 2189–2196. doi:10.1007/s00726-016-2250-z. ISSN 1438-2199. PMC 4990494. PMID 27169868.
  9. ↑ Woodcock, Clayton B.; Ulashchik, Egor A.; Poopeiko, Nikolai E.; Shmanai, Vadim V.; Reich, Norbert O.; Shchepinov, Mikhail S. (3 November 2016). "Rational Manipulation of DNA Methylation by Using Isotopically Reinforced Cytosine". ChemBioChem. 17 (21): 2018–2021. doi:10.1002/cbic.201600393. ISSN 1439-7633. PMID 27595234.
  10. ↑ Korneenko, T. V.; Pestov, N. B.; Hurski, A. L.; Fedarkevich, A. M.; Shmanai, V. V.; Brenna, J. T.; Shchepinov, M. S. (2017). "A strong developmental isotope effect in Caenorhabditis elegans induced by 5,5-deuterated lysine". Amino Acids. 49 (5): 887–894. doi:10.1007/s00726-017-2386-5. PMID 28161800.
  11. ↑ Hill, Shauna; Lamberson, Connor R.; Xu, Libin; To, Randy; Tsui, Hui S.; Shmanai, Vadim V.; Bekish, Andrei V.; Awad, Agape M.; Marbois, Beth N.; Cantor, Charles R.; Porter, Ned A.; Clarke, Catherine F.; Shchepinov, Mikhail S. (15 August 2012). "Small amounts of isotope-reinforced polyunsaturated fatty acids suppress lipid autoxidation". Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 53 (4): 893–906. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.06.004. ISSN 1873-4596. PMC 3437768. PMID 22705367.
  12. ↑ Shchepinov, Mikhail S. (April 2020). "Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Deuteration against Neurodegeneration". Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. 41 (4): 236–248. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2020.01.010. ISSN 1873-3735. PMID 32113652.
  13. ↑ Shchepinov, M. S.; Denissenko, M. F.; Smylie, K. J.; Wörl, R. J.; Leppin, A. L.; Cantor, C. R.; Rodi, C. P. (2001). "Matrix-induced fragmentation of P3'-N5' phosphoramidate-containing DNA: high-throughput MALDI-TOF analysis of genomic sequence polymorphisms". Nucleic Acids Research. 29 (18): 3864–3872. doi:10.1093/nar/29.18.3864. PMC 55906. PMID 11557819.
  14. ↑ Ustinov, A. V.; Shmanai, V. V.; Patel, K.; Stepanova, I. A.; Prokhorenko, I. A.; Astakhova, I. V.; Malakhov, A. D.; Skorobogatyi, M. V.; Bernad, P. L. Jr; Khan, S.; Shahgholi, M.; Southern, E. M.; Korshun, V. A.; Shchepinov, M. S. (2008). "Reactive trityl derivatives: stabilised carbocation mass-tags for life sciences applications". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 6 (24): 4593–5108. doi:10.1039/b810600b. PMID 19039369.
  15. ↑ "Would eating heavy atoms lengthen our lives?". New Scientist.
  16. ↑ https://doi.org/10.1080/10715762.2026.2707391
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