Medicinal Chemistry Division Home > Research Groups   Overview | Missions and goals | Competencies | People | Area of research | Facilities | Current Research | Projects   Download Brochure 14.0KB Overview The research in medicinal chemistry division includes the design and synthesis of new medicinal agents, development of new concepts for the design of selectively active ligands, improvement of existing drugs by molecular modifications and structural elucidation of biologically active natural products. The major program is aimed at chemistry-biology interface. The main focus of research is to discover novel compounds using rational design approaches based on ligand and structural information derived from clinical compounds to treat cancer, inflammation, obesity and tuberculosis. The department has state-of-the art research facilities. The students, who are pursuing their doctoral degree, have opportunity to gain expertise in both organic and medicinal chemistry. They also have an opportunity to broaden their knowledge in the area of drug discovery, molecular biology, pharmacology and biochemistry. Missions and goals Synthesis of complex carbohydrate based GPIs to study its biological significance as cell surface anchors. Receptor based drug discovery: design and synthesis of novel target based anticancer therapeutics. Development of novel immune-adjuvants for sub-unit vaccines. Total synthesis of complex carbogenic molecules of structural and biological interest. Development of novel synthetic methodologies. Design, synthesis and conformational studies on peptides, peptide foldamers and peptide based enzyme Inhibitors & conjugates. Design and synthesis of novel hybrids for skin/beauty care applications. Screening of natural peptides protein-protein interaction by mass spectrometry. Competencies Well equipped laboratory with state-of-the-art facilities. Expertise in synthesis of carbohydrate based complex molecules. Expertise in structural chemistry of peptides & proteins. Total synthesis and structural modification of bio-active natural products for lead discovery. Protein/peptide identification, sequencing and characterization by MALDI. People: Sr. NO Name Expertise E-mail 1. Ram A. Vishwakarma Organic Synthesis; Biosynthesis; Medicinal Chemistry; Drug Discovery; Natural Products Chemistry; Glycobiology; Cell & Membrane Biology. ram@iiim.res.in director@iiim.res.in 2. Sanghapal D. Sawant Rational Synthetic Modifications of Bioactive Natural Products; Synthetic Method Developments. sdsawant@iiim.res.in 3. Parvinder P. Singh Total Synthesis & Structural Modification of Natural Products; Carbohydrate Chemistry. ppsingh@iiim.res.in 4. Deepika Singh Peptides/Proteins Sequencing. dsingh@iiim.res.in 5. Rajkishore Rai Peptide/Protein Chemistry; Chemical Biology. raj@iiim.res.in Area of research Drug discovery Chemical biology Carbohydrate chemistry Protein/peptide chemistry Bio-conjugate chemistry Development of novel synthetic methodologies Improvement of existing drugs by molecular modifications Screening of natural peptides by mass spectrometry Facilities MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer High Performance Liquid Chromatography ( preparative & analytical) Freeze Dryer UV spectrophotometer Gel electrophoresis system /gel cutter Icematic Rotary evaporators Flash chromatography systems Deep freezers, refrigerators, refrigerated centrifuges Chillers and shakers Current Research Structural modification of bioactive natural products for lead discovery against cancer, diabetes, inflammation and tuberculosis. Total synthesis of bioactive natural products. Synthesis of complex carbohydrate based GPIs to study its biological relevance as cell surface anchors. Design and Synthesis of natural product based isoform selective inhibitors of PI3- Kinase. Design, synthesis and conformational studies of peptides of biological importance. Development of new synthetic methodologies for glycosylation and synthesis of bioactive heterocyclic entities. Development of novel skin care molecules and melanin repairing agents. Projects Ongoing 1. Development of novel target based anticancer therapeutics? (CSIR Supra Institutional Project: SIP0027) Completed 1. Development of novel skin care hybrids for cosmeceutical applications? (Sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive, NJ-USA). 2. Develop understanding and control of SK-II pitera fractionataion, benchmarking molecular bioactivities, chemical characterization and potential synthetic approaches? (Sponsored by Procter & Gamble, Kobe-Japan)