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Organic Chemistry

Synthetic arabinomannans – A novel weapon against the century old mycobacterial threat

Considered as mankind’s greatest killer, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, has indeed become one group of bacteria which has challenged microbiologists and medical researchers for decades. Since the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 1882, many scientists and researchers have employed different strategies to handle and treat mycobacterial infections. Longtreatment regime, the emergence of multiple drug resistance and chronic infections are the serious challenges associated with tuberculosis control. Now scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore have tried out an interdisciplinary approach for fighting these killer bacteria.

Baheerathan

Dr. Santanu Mukherjee: the synthesis of organic compounds

A key contributor to this advancing field is Dr. Santanu Mukherjee, an Assistant Professor in the Organic Chemistry Department of Indian Institute of Science. Dr. Mukherjee studies chiral compounds ― molecules with same composition that appear as mirror images in their arrangement of atoms. His research focuses on developing new methods in hydrogen bonding catalysis to generate compounds that are structurally pure (only one of two possible mirror-image forms).

Chetana Deshpande

A novel controllable vehicle for efficient and safe gene delivery

Researchers at IISc have developed a novel, controllable, extremely tiny vehicle to safely deliver genes into biological cells. The new vehicle, derived from a “lipopolymer”, is an improvement on known vehicles; it is more efficient and less toxic. Its unique structure also allows researchers to control the timing and site of gene delivery.

Ranjini Raghunath