My research interest involved synthesis and evaluation of heterocyclic compounds, mainly coumarins; including their applications in rational drug design in the area of anticancer and Anti-HIV research. Coumarins, naturally occurring benzofurans, exhibit useful and diverse biological activities. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in their synthesis and possible applications as therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases such as breast cancer. Currently, my research goal focused on the following:
I. Design and Synthesis of Coumarin derivatives with anticancer and anti-HIV properties utilizing
innovative chemical synthetic techniques. Of particular interest are the Coumarin-based
selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), coumarin-estrogen conjugates and coumarin
analogies of HIV-1 protease inhibitor, ritonavir.
II. Antiproliferative Studies using A549 and ER enriched MCF-7 breast cancer cells lines.
III. Molecular Modeling studies (Docking studies) of the coumarin ligands in the determination of
the relative binding affinity based upon binding energies and the conformational changes
imposed on the receptor.
