Research Areas
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Our group is working in the interface of chemistry and biology. The research interest mainly focuses on design and synthesis of novel organic and inorganic compounds which are functionalized with biomolecules/activating groups for their potential applications in chemical biology and medicinal therapeutics.
The current research interest of our group includes:
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Metal-based Anticancer and Antimicrobial Agents​
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Metal-Catalyzed Bioorthogonal Chemistry Within Living Cells
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Photoactivatable Prodrugs for Site-Selective and Controlled Activation Within Living Cells
Metal-Based Diagnostic and Therapeutic Agents to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Infectious disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is a multifaceted problem and posed serious threats to human health, killing 7 million people annually across the globe due to the rapid evolution of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Over the past 30 years, no new antibiotics have been discovered, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned of dire consequences as we swiftly edge towards the “post-antibiotic era”. This scenario projects an urgent and unmet need for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents against MDR bacteria. To address this, we aim to develop new classes of metal-based aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) compounds to combat AMR.
Targeted Metal-Based Anticancer Agents
The development of metal-based anticancer agents has gained a considerable interest since the serendipitous discovery of cisplatin as an anticancer drug. Unique properties of metal complexes such as varied coordination geometry, structural diversity, versatile redox states, easy functionalization of ligands, and distinct photophysical characteristics can produce a vast number of complexes which makes them excellent candidates for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for cancer. Therefore, our effort is to design and synthesize new types of kinetically inert and organelle targeted metal complexes as anticancer theranostic agents.
Metal-Catalyzed Bioorthogonal Chemistry Within Living Cells
​Transition metal catalysts (TMCs) have emerged as a promising tool for carrying out various unnatural chemical transformation reactions via bioorthogonal catalysis in a myriad of cellular environments. However, designing metal-based catalysts which retain their catalytic activity within the biotic environment is a highly formidable challenge due to the presence of air, water, and millimolar concentrations of nucleophilic thiols in physiological conditions. Hence, our objective is to design and synthesize a stable substrate that caged with unnatural functional group (caged substrates) and to find a suitable catalyst for uncaging reactions inside living cells. This novel approach can be utilized for a variety of applications such as biomolecular labeling, intracellular probe release, and in situ enzyme and prodrug activation.
Photoactivatable Prodrugs for Site-Selective and Controlled Activation Within Living Cells
Photoactivatable or photoremovable protecting groups (PPGs) have gained enormous interest in the field of biomedical applications. The photoactivatable prodrug activation strategy is superior to others (e.g. pH, redox, reactive oxygen species, enzymes, temperature etc.) since the drug release can be modulated by simply adjusting the wavelength, intensity, and exposure time of light to attain both spatial and temporal control with high precision. Herein, we are interested in designing a site-selective photoactivatable drug delivery system that provides temporally controlled, on-demand, and dose-dependent release of drugs.
