Research Projects

The re-emergence of vector-borne infections, such as Chikungunya and Dengue, poses a significant health and economic threat worldwide. India, being a densely populated country, is prone to infection outbreaks. The lack of an approved vaccine for these viruses makes the situation vulnerable. Quinoline, a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry, remains the preferred pharmacophore in antiviral drug design. Quinoline-derived antimalarial drug, chloroquine, has been reported to inhibit these viruses. Nucleoside analogs are another important class of broad-spectrum antivirals that have shown potency against these viruses. The conjugation of nucleoside scaffolds to bioactive molecules has shown to significantly improve their bioactivity. Novel quinoline-purine nucleoside conjugates (adenosine and deoxyadenosine) conjugates are proposed as effective CHIKV and DENV inhibitors. The study will use an environmentally friendly approach to access a library of novel adenosine and deoxyadenosine conjugates of quinoline N-oxides. Molecular docking studies will be performed with viral proteins to understand their interactions and assess structure activity relations for designing effective inhibitors. Antiviral activities will be assessed through cell-based antiviral assays using previously isolated strains.