MISSION: To introduce sustainability in Organic Synthesis, Catalysis, and Biomedical Research

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Research Focus: Development of new strategies and concepts in sustainable (green) chemistry to address the challenging problems in biomedical research and drug discovery aiming at (i) minimizing/eliminating the toxic organic solvents out of organic reactions using green solvents (preferably recyclable water) as the reaction medium, (ii) replacing precious (endangered) metal catalysis with earth-abundant metals, and (iii) employing safer chemicals (benign by design) and atom/step-economic process.

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CURRENT RESEARCH 

Aqueous organic reactions: The expansion of sustainable (organic) processes is a focus of contemporary interest due to the adverse effects of the manufacturing process on the health and environment. One of the foremost initiatives towards this goal is performing catalytic reactions in the alternate reaction media, particularly in water, using earth-abundant metals. The adaptation of such alternate metal catalysis has gained increasing attention due to its economic and sustainable benefits, particularly in large-scale preparations.

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Synthesis of pharmaceuticals (APIs, KIs, and KSMs): The pharmaceutical industry in India is the third largest in the world, in terms of volume, behind China and Italy, and the fourteenth largest in terms of value. It has a strong network of 3,000 drug companies and about 10,500 manufacturing units with a domestic turnover of Rs 1.4 lakh crore (USD 20.03 billion) in 2019, with exports to more than 200 countries in the world. However, with the availability of cheaper APIs abroad, the pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on imports, resulting in a strong threat to self-dependency. In order to make India self-reliant, our research is strongly focused on the application of green chemistry towards the synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), key Intermediates (KIs), and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) to make our country self-reliant.

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Drug Discovery: We have identified a promising drug candidate for neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson’s disease), cancers, and spinal cord injury. Currently, we are focusing on the improve drug candidacy (modulation of drug-like properties) following hit-to-lead optimizations.

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RECENT FINDINGS 

Sustainable electrophilic allylation reactions: Allylic amines are versatile chemicals with varied utility. Traditionally, their preparation is dominated by a Pd-catalyzed reaction. In sustainable development, we developed a Ni-catalyzed N/C-allylation reaction (ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2021; Green Chem. 2022; Green Chem. 2022). We have provided experimental and spectroscopic evidence suggesting the role of water in the activation of allylic alcohols. We believe the adaptation of these protocols will receive attention due to their economic and sustainable benefits.

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“All-water” synthesis of Pharmaceuticals: We developed the “all-water” synthesis of FLUNARIZINE, CINNARIZINE, and NAFTIFINE wherein the step reactions are promoted by aqueous micelles, leading to a novel water-assisted synthesis of marketed pharmaceuticals. (Green Chem. 2022; Indian Patent: Application Number: 2020210241 85; Indian Patent: Application Number-202021016956, Grant No.- 402617).

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Discovery of the drug candidate(s) for neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and spinal cord injury: We have identified a drug candidate (DK-2018-112) for Parkinson’s disease with neuroprotective activity, oral cancer (DKGV-2018-79), and spinal cord injury (DK-2019-12) following the details in vitro, in vivo studies, and DMPK study.

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