Research

Research Interests

As chemists, we are intensely interested in the field of nucleic acid, and value in-depth investigation of the subject and its challenges.

G-quadruplex nucleic acid

G-quadruplex represents one of the conformational variations in the domain of nucleic acid. It comprises a planar arrangement of four guanine nucleobases, which is inherently stabilized by hydrogen bonding interactions via Hoogsteen faces and folds in the presence of Na(I) or K(I). Notably, the sequences that are potential to fold into G4-conformation, are not located randomly, but rather found in the regulatory region of the human chromosome. In fact, G-quadruplex offers a new modality for targeting DNA, a way to moving beyond the current ‘blunderbuss’ approach with cytotoxic drugs. It is assumed that the molecule which can induce the formation or stabilize the G-tetrad conformation can be applied as anticancer drugs.

Key questions in focus:

Can we contribute, as chemists, in controlling the G-quadruplex function?
Can we aim to harness the structural complexity of the coordination complex in targeting the G-quadruplex?

Prebiotic Chemistry

This is a very exciting time for research on the origin of life, and we, as chemists, believe in the existence of a 'chemical evolution' before the much known 'Darwinian evolution'. Relatively little is known about how the simple organic molecules present on early earth evolved into a complex system with enormous precision. The research in prebiotic chemistry attempts to solve this issue theoretically and experimentally. The challenges in this study lie in the fact that direct evidence is long gone, and we have to work by using plausible inference. The origin-of-life researchers need to solve numerous puzzles, and it’s a long way from slime to Mozart.