Research Activites

Asymmetric Catalysis | Bio-coordination Chemistry

Another area which has caught our attention is the area of medicinal chemistry of organometallic and coordination compounds. Indeed our interests in this area is fuelled by our repeated observation that a complex of dppe (bis diphenyl phosphinoethane and copper(I) is surprisingly active against several tumor cell lines. Interestingly, when the mechanism of action was investigated, it was found to be very different from that of cisplatin, the best known metallo-drug. We would like to investigate the mechanism of anticancer activity in this complex and its relatives so that we can design a drug that complements and supersedes cisplatin and its analogs in anticancer activity! More information about our work would be posted in a separate page. If you are interested in joining our research activities, send us a e-mail to ashoka_at_iisc.ac.in. Past publications have been listed according to the topics and are giiven in this web page. A historical introduction given below would help you understand our approach.


Cellular-coordination chemistry

Another area which has caught our attention is the application of organometallic and coordination compounds to medicinal chemistry. Our interest in this area is fuelled by our repeated observation that a complex of dppe (bis diphenyl phosphinoethane) and copper(I) is surprisingly active against several tumor cell lines. Interestingly, when the mechanism of action was investigated, it was found to be very different from that of cisplatin, the best known metallo-drug. We would like to investigate the mechanism of anticancer activity in this complex and its relatives so that we can design a drug that complements and supersedes cisplatin in activity!
We are currently investigating two aspects, the role of asymmetry in anticancer activity and ways to target cancer cells with metal complexes. Currently the following people are working in this area
Duraipandi