| Title | Extraction, purification and characterisation of bioactive products from natural sources |
|---|---|
| Supervisor | Veronique Seidel |
| Research Area | Pharmacognosy, Natural Products Chemistry, Medicinal Phytochemistry |
| Description | Natural sources represent a unique pool of chemically-diverse substances that have evolved to specifically interact with biological targets. The investigation of natural sources (e.g. plants, marine organisms and microbes) can lead to the identification of novel bioactive hits that can serve as templates for the development of new drugs [1]. The exact nature of the bioactive constituent(s) present in many natural extracts remains to be identified. In this project, a selection of natural (mainly plant-based) material will be extracted with a view to purifying and characterising a variety of phytochemicals. Plants will be selected on the basis of their traditional medicinal uses. Isolated compounds will be screened for biological activity in a series of in vitro tests. Computational approaches such as molecular docking will also be used to predict the interactions of natural compounds with specific biological targets [2]. |
| Techniques Used | Purification of various phytochemicals from natural extracts (Chromatography procedures) Structure elucidation of isolated natural compounds (Nuclear magnetic resonance -NMR- spectroscopy, Mass spectrometry) Biological screening Molecular docking |
| References | [1] Newman DJ, Cragg GM. 2016. Natural Products as Sources of New Drugs from 1981 to 2014. J Nat Prod.79(3):629-61. [2] Qasaymeh RM, Rotondo D, Oosthuizen CB, Lall N, Seidel V. 2019. Predictive Binding Affinity of Plant-Derived Natural Products Towards the Protein Kinase G Enzyme of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtPknG). Plants (Basel). 8(11). pii: E477. |
| Conditions | Applicants should possess or be about to obtain a 1st class or 2:1 Honours degree or equivalent in Pharmacy or Chemistry in addition to receipt of satisfactory references and an IELTS score of 6.5 where appropriate. Applicants with an MSc in Pharmacognosy are particularly encouraged to apply. |
| Bench Fee | Running costs of £12000 p.a. will be associated with this project in addition to University tuition fees. |
| Suitable For | Candidates with a strong motivation to pursue research in this field. |
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