Research Interests
Newer Synthetic Methodologies. Click Chemistry in Drug Discovery. Green and Sustainable Chemistry. Inter or Intramolecular Cyclization’s. Metal and Metal-Free C-H Bond Activation. Organofluorine and Organophosphorus Chemistry, Target Oriented Synthesis of Bioactive Heterocycles.
Heterocyclic Chemistry
Nitrogen or oxygen heterocyclic motifs are prevalent and commonly found in a wide variety of natural products, pharmaceuticals, and other biologically active
compounds. Our research group is developing novel protocols to access valuable heterocycles from simple and readily available raw materials.
Medicinal Chemistry
Malaria and other Parasitic Diseases
Malaria is one of the most serious tropical diseases, which kills millions of the people in each year throughout the world. It is caused in humans by five species of
single-celled, eukaryotic Plasmodium parasites. Among the malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for many human deaths. This parasite is transmitted
to humans via the bite of a female Anopheles mosquitoes. Upon transmission, parasites invade hepatocytes to form schizonts. A proportion of the liver-stage parasites
remain dormant in the hepatocytes in P. vivax infections. In this stage the parasite can remain dormant for months or several years and then get activated to give
relapse malaria. When the liver cells rupture, the merozoites are released into the bloodstream where they rapidly invade erythrocytes to replicate asexually through
a 48 hours cycle during which all symptoms of the disease appear. A small percentage of merozoites, differentiate into male and female gametocytes, which are taken
up by the mosquito in her blood meal. It is these gametocytes that cause the cycle of transmission to continue back to the mosquito. Male and female gametocytes
fuse within the mosquito forming diploid zygotes, which in turn become ookinetes. These ookinetes migrate to the midgut of the insect, pass through the gut wall
and form oocysts. Sporozoites which develop within oocysts then migrate to the salivary glands of the mosquito, ready to continue the cycle of transmission back
to man. Although good efficacious antimalarials are available and are used as combination therapy, the major challenge remains the development of drug resistance.
Therefore, development of novel antimalarials with new or dual targets is highly desirable. Our research group is focusing to discovery of novel compounds in the
malaria and other parasitic diseases area.
Neuroscience and Ageing Biology
Alzheimer's disease(AD) is an age related neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. AD is caused by many factors, such as Aβ aggregation, tau-protein hyper phosphorylation, oxidative stress and acetylcholine breakdown. Among these, the Aβ aggregation plays a major role in neuronal loss and cognitive impairment by forming extracellular senile plaques which leads to neuronal injury and finally death. To date, four acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs, e.g., Rivastigmine, Tacrine, Donepezil, and Galantamine) and one N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA, e.g., Memantine) receptor antagonist available in the market for the treatment of AD. Unfortunately, these drugs can only slow down the progress of the disease, but cannot cure AD. Recently, multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) has been considered as a promising scaffolds for the treatment of AD. Due to its complex pathogenesis, design and synthesis of multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) are urgently required in order to combat AD. Our research group is focusing to discovery of novel compounds in the neuroscience and ageing biology area.