New Drugs and Diagnostics

Overview

Medicinal chemistry, derived from synthetic organic chemistry, is an important research area that underpins improvements in health and well-being in our society. Much of QUT's research in this area focuses on diseases of oxidative stress and ways to detect and control the stress-causing agents. Free radicals in particular are closely involved in diseases ranging from inflammation to cancer.

The Bottle research group at QUT, a part of the national ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, is focused on detecting the action of free radicals in biological systems and the development of new medicines to combat the effects of these species in a range of diseases. The heme enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) has become a key focus of current research in this area.

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Research leader
Organisational unit
Lead unit ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology Other units
Research area
Chemistry
 

Details

MPO is associated with extensive host-tissue damage in a wide range of human pathologies, particularly inflammation. New drugs developed by QUT researchers may be important modulators of MPO activity in vivo, thus limiting MPO-mediated tissue damage.

Results to date show that there are marked structural and electronic effects that control the degree of enzyme inhibition. The development of new agents is guided by new understanding of the fundamental physical and chemical properties of these systems as well as the challenges of synthesising novel structures with the right activity.